Wicked: Peripheral Vision
by Servatsia
Summary: Elphaba strove to be noticed since the day she was born, but the attention she gets isn't the sort she's looking for. When she attends Shiz University, though, her entire life is changed. But it's only one person who will change her for good.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Glinda pressed her tome to her chest and watched as she drew ever nearer to the Emerald City. Her heart was pounding against her chest and her breath came in uneasy shudders; she knew what lay ahead. She was truly alone now. And the people of Oz were waiting for her--their Glinda--to bring them the good news.

She reviewed the speech she had planned, just a few words to tide over the eager ears she knew she would find upon arriving at the center square. The people wanted news and she thought she was ready to give it to them but, as the city loomed, growing closer, the words she had planned were stuffed down to the pit of her trembling stomach. She took a deep breath as her bubble passed over the front gates of the city and prepared herself for what would be one of the hardest moments of her life.

"Fellow Ozians," belted Glinda from high above the heads of the people of the Emerald City, "I bring you good news!"

"Look," someone shouted, pointing to the sky, "It's Glinda the Good!"

"Hey, everyone, hurry! Glinda has news!"

"What is it, Glinda?" she heard from the crowd. And, in the several other voices, "What news do you bring us? Have you found the Wicked Witch?"

Glinda clutched the book ever more tightly and forced her face into the best and sweetest of smiles.

"No, dear ones," she said, allowing two men to lower her from her bubble as soon a she was near the ground. Once alighted, Glinda felt the heat of the people pressing in on her, the individuals hearing of her arrival and rushing to the square. "Even better still," she said, a twinge in her voice going unnoticed. The crowd only pushed in closer to better hear her. Bracing herself, she rose her light voice over the growing throng.

"THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST IS DEAD!"

A collective gasp escaped the people gathered around Glinda. Those who hadn't heard her or who had just arrived were hurriedly informed in low, excited voices, and the masses positively began to hum. Glinda hastily tried to retreat to her bubble but was caught in the sway of the crowd, which was pushing her toward the platform at the center of the square.

"Who killed her, Glinda?"

"Is she really dead?"

"How did it happen?"

"Please, PLEASE!" she shouted, but she was being forcibly carried to the podium and no one seemed to hear her plea to be released. Before she could wrench herself free from the grasp of the people, she was thrust onto the tiny stage.

"But what of the Wizard?"

"How do we know she's really dead?"

"FELLOW OZIANS!"

Glinda had seized the advantage of the microphone and put all of the considerable power behind her voice into the little metal frame. The effect was immediate and drastic.

"Fellow Ozians," she repeated more quietly to the hushed crowd, "All of your questions will be answered in due time."

"Glinda, can you-"

"HUSH! Silly..." she giggled nervously and swallowed as though she were keeping down her very fears.

"Now, I know that so many of you fear that such... _wonderful_ news cannot be true. But I assure you," she said, silencing the impatient questions with her hands, "that the Wicked Witch is completely, absolutely, and most certainly..."

Glinda looked around at the many eager faces that she had expected to see and yet she was unable to speak. It just couldn't be real. Now, Glinda, the voice inside her said. Do it now or you'll never do it at all.

"DEAD. SHE'S DEAD!"

Her voice was drowned out by the whoops and cries of the crowd which had just let loose the energy that had begun building since Glinda had arrived. No one could believe it-she was dead! But Galinda had told them it was true-and she would never lie to them-so it had to be true! Many of the people started dancing, embracing each other, bursting into song. They were delighted and they all believed that it was Galinda they had to thank for their joy.

"But Glinda, Ms. Glinda!"

An older man was pushing his way through the crowd to the front, his cane prodding people out of his way. Who would be trying to question Galinda now? Hadn't she just given them all they really needed to know?

"Glinda, is it true?"

The crowd fell silent; everyone was watching the odd exchange.

"True?" Glinda turned to face the man, looking a little less cheerful than she should have with a single tear running down her pale cheek. "I just told you-"

"No, no, I believe that she is dead. What I want to know concerns a troubling rumor, a rumor claiming that you were her _friend_."

The crowd gasped so indignantly, so offended for Glinda, that no one took notice of the tear or Glinda's look of dismay and distress.

"How dare you say such things about Glinda," a woman next to the old man said, "when she brings us news of the Witch's demise?"

Apparently the woman's statement reflected the feeling of the entire crowd because the man was immediately pushed back through the waves of people, far from their revered Galinda's sight. The new leader of the Royal Guard stepped forward as his soldiers filed through the crowd, surrounding the stage lest someone else try and disturb the new heiress apparent to the throne of the Wizard.

"You should go now, your highness," the man said, extending his well tanned hand to her. She gratefully accepted it, desperate to leave the pulsating crowd and the demanding questions she knew would be put to her if she stayed.

"Go to the castle," he said. Glinda was taken aback a little.

"It rightfully belongs to you now, Glinda."

She smiled, a bitter sweet realization washing over her. She was the sole governing body of Oz and the people would look to her for guidance now. In truth, she had not the slightest idea where to begin in that respect, but she did know that she was eager to get to the castle, to be left alone for awhile. The kindly man carrying her, single handedly lifting her back into her bubble, would make sure that she had her privacy. She would deal with the reality, the politics and facets of her new life another time.

"Are you alright, your highness?"

Glinda's attention was pulled back to the present. She nodded to the Royal Guard distractedly.

"To the castle," she said with a smile that was tragically beautiful.

As the ground disappeared once more, she stared through the people on the ground who were vanishing in every direction to spread the "good news" throughout Oz.

------

The castle at the northern end of the Emerald City was the most magnificent (if not flamboyant) dwelling in all of Oz. There were more rooms than could house all of the people of Munchkinland and it was worth nearly all the gold in all of Oz. It wasn't a castle; it was a palace, one that every person in the Emerald City wanted to live in.

Everyone, that is, but Glinda.

Hidden away in one of the three master bedrooms, Glinda tried desperately to calm her rapidly beating heart. But it was a difficult task and she frequently clutched at her chest through her periwinkle gown as though fearing that her heart would burst from her at any moment. She blinked furiously, not bothering to otherwise rid herself of the tears streaming down her face, cascading onto her sob-wrecked neck.

Dead. She was really dead. And he...

What did she have left in life, seeing what she had seen, knowing what she knew?

Her lashes fluttered and the tears dripped onto the coverlet. She choked on a cry, gripping the bed with one hand, her chest with the other.

"Oh, Elphie," she whispered. "Why did it have to turn out this way?"

Looking back on things, she wondered if, somehow, things could have turned out differently.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Green and Pink Just Don't Go Together

Since before she was old enough to talk (which was very, very young, in Galinda's case), the parents of a small, baby-faced girl had begun raising their daughter like a farmer raises prize cattle. The mother primped and preened while the father educated and exercised away the stubborn weight of childhood. Though she would never be the smartest or the wittiest, she had a knack for persuasion that her parents took tremendous pride in. One could have almost called her devious, had she not been such a silly thing, what with her pink cheeks and golden curls. She was the successful product of a grand experiment, a result of dotting teachers and proud, rich parents. She managed to leave secondary school early to attend the acclaimed Shiz University, as her parents (and therefore she) had always dreamed.

Though Galinda's rose-tinted youth was not unheard of, or even rare, it was not an existence shared by all young girls of her time. In fact, there were many young ladies who just couldn't be "primped" at all. And when your skin is of an unusual hue, baby-fat is the least of your problems.

Elphaba was one of those not-so-lucky girls.

From birth, Elphaba was handed nothing. Though the daughter of a family even more prominent that Galinda's, she was hidden away like some sort of plant that the family had been given but didn't like very much. And while Elphaba knew a myriad of reasons for her ostracism (such as the painful knowledge that her mother had died in labor or her apathy bordering on hatred for her zealous father's religion), there was one quality concerning Elphaba that would never allow this particular girl to be like the beloved Galinda.

Elphaba was green.

Green.

Bright green.

Green like the leafiest leaf, the mossiest moss, the frogiest frog. Elphaba's skin was a constant, inescapable fact of her life, a glaring reminder that she was not like her sister, not like her father, not like the mother she would never know. She was unnatural, as even strangers took to reminding her on a frequent (if not daily) basis. No one would ever want a green wife, a green daughter in law. No one would ever want her, not the way she was.

And that was just fine with Elphaba. She had more time to study without the worries and hassle of love and all related issues.

Alone, Elphaba became an intelligent, articulate, and overall amazing individual. But no one looked past the green to see the human person inside.

At the age of seventeen, though, Elphaba was to receive the one and only gift she would ever get from her family. She had never told her father of her desire to further educate herself because she knew what his response would be like. But in the early fall, her sister (two years her senior), was going to Shiz University.

The problem with her sister, Nessarose, attending the school was singular and undeniable: Nessarose was bound to a wheelchair and, for most of her life, had been dependent upon Elphaba to care for her even most basic needs such as dressing and eating. Though capable in all other respects (mentally, assuredly, and physically above her waist), she would need Elphaba to come along with her.

And the only way the school would allow that was if Elphaba, too, enrolled in the school.

So, on an early morning in the fall, when the leaves were turning dark and falling to the ground at the feet of the students strolling about the campus, two young ladies from very, very different beginnings sought to achieve rather similar ends. Elphaba and Galinda both entered Shiz University in the same year, both just seventeen years old and given special permission to attend the school of their dreams.

And that, for better or worse, was merely the beginning.

------

The train to Shiz was a long one, but worth it in every respect for Elphaba. She had never been on a train before and, despite her inner denial, she was enjoying it just as a small child would. Her eyes simply could not fix on the book in her lap when there were beautiful, vibrant green valleys whispering by as the train climbed through a mountain pass. It was breathtaking.

"Oh, Elphaba," said Nessarose, with a dreamy quality to her voice, "this is going to be wonderful."

Elphaba, for once in her life, couldn't help agreeing with her.

"Elphaba, what's that book for?"

She flipped it over so Nessarose could read the cover.

"It's all about the beginnings of Animal society." She frowned at Nessa's expression. "Oh, Ness, it's really interesting. Don't tell me you think like those stuffy aristocrats too?"

"No, no," she said, but quieted down when she noticed their father returning from the dining coach. "I just don't like to talk about such things, Elphaba. Besides," she said more loudly as her father sat down, "we should be concerned about more important subjects."

"And what could be more important than history?" Elphaba asked heatedly.

The light above them flickered and Nessa eyed Elphaba with both concern and fear. Her eyes darted to her father.

"That's enough, Elphaba."

Their father sat, the six and a half feet of him imposing, even when seated. He brushed a hand over her hairless head.

Elphaba sat back in her seat and the light dimmed back to normal.

"There'll be none of your… _disturbances_ at school, do you hear me?"

Elphaba wilted in her chair.

"Yes father," she said softly.

"You remember our agreement?"

Oh, she remembered. How could she forget? He had threatened to take her out of the school and pay an attendant to take care of Nessa. She was no more than an indentured servant, and she knew it. But she also knew that is wasn't as easy as turning off a switch when it came to her "episodes".

From an early age, strange things occurred whenever Elphaba got angry or upset. Lights were known to flare and extinguish, inanimate objects flew from their places, and it had even once rained in the parlor on her birthday when no one had given her a gift. Elphaba had been blamed for the occurrences, of course, but she had no control over what had happened! She wasn't even sure it was really her causing it. Perhaps it was just another twist of fate that she would simply have to endure.

But sometimes, she had to admit, she knew what was happening. She could feel something… something strange and yet… _wonderful_ flow through her when "things happened".

Wonderful as it felt, though, she wouldn't risk her place at Shiz to feel that way again. She clamped down on her emotions, quite like pushing a very large piece of paper into the mouth of a very small bottle, and settled back, eyes closed tightly against any tears that should think to stray from her eyes.

After sitting there for a long moment in silence, Elphaba reopened her eyes to watch the trees passing by. And ffter another second, Elphaba thought she felt something warm on her hand and, upon looking down, found her sister's thin, pale hand covering her stronger green one. When she looked up into Nessa's eyes, she thought she saw sympathy there. Normally, this would have upset Elphaba, had it been coming from anyone else. But she knew that it was heartfelt with Nessa, who, every so often, would show that she cared about her sister. Whether that was because she needed her to be calm or she actually cared, Elphaba couldn't really be sure, but she would take what she could get.

"We should be pulling into the station at any moment, Nessarose," their father said, his eyes never veering from the newspaper in his hands. If he had seen Nessa and Elphaba's brief exchange, he made no mention of it. When his daughter did not move, he folded the paper in his lap.

"Well?"

Elphaba hurried up from her seat.

"I'm going."

Just as she rose, the train started to slow down. They had reached the station.

"Let's go, then, Nessa."

He left the paper on the seat and leaned forward to scoop Nessa up in his arms. He had two daughters old enough to have children themselves, but he was by no means old. He lifted Nessa as though without any thought to it and set her in the wheelchair that Elphaba had removed from the compartment above their heads. As soon was she was safely seated, Elphaba began to pull down the luggage.

"Father," Nessa said simply, watching Elphaba struggle with the three suitcases, only the smallest of which was actually hers. He sighed and lifted the largest one, setting it on its wheels. Elphaba blushed with shame under his scrutinizing gaze, knowing that it was just one more thing she wasn't doing well enough.

"SHIZ UNIVERSITY," the conductor boomed through the speakers overhead. "NEXT STOP, EMERALD CITY."

"Hurry up, Elphaba," Nessarose said nervously, her hand gripping her purse as Elphaba handed it to her, setting it unceremoniously in her lap. Their father walked behind them as Elphaba wheeled Nessa down the corridor, trying not to bump the wheelchair against the seats. When they reached the exit, he stepped out first and lowered the front of the wheel chair with one hand while Elphaba struggled with the weight from above.

Nessa was set down with only the slightest of turbulence, but Elphaba was still given a displeased look as she leapt from the train, only just making it off before the conductor made the sign that the train was to start up again. She grabbed for her trunk and wrenched it from the train just in the nick of time.

"Remember, Elphaba, you're only reason for being here--"

"Is to take care of Nessa. I know, father."

He side-stepped Nessa and leaned in close to Elphaba.

"Now you listen here, _daughter_," he said, somehow making the title sound like an insult, "If I hear anything, anything at all, about your… _abnormality_...I will pull you from this school faster than you can say 'wizard'. Am I understood?"

Elphaba leaned back and nodded vigorously. Long gone were the days when he could frighten her simply with his imposing manner, but this threat was not something Elphaba could allow herself to take lightly. She knew that Shiz was her chance to escape, to make something better of herself. She nodded once more for good measure.

"Good. Because I would hate to make Nessarose suffer the attention of some stranger," he said, kissing her lightly on the head. His patronizing tone was almost more than Elphaba could bear, but a pleading look from Nessa reminded her that it wasn't worth it.

"Have a good semester, Nessa, sweetheart," he said. "I'll be having a chat with the headmistress to ensure your room is taken care of."

As soon as he had strode out of hearing range, Elphaba let out the breath she'd been holding ever since the incident on the train. Nessa laughed lightly.

"Let's go then, Elphaba."

------

All new students were to report to the lobby of the main dorm in order to get their rooming assignments and, when Nessarose and Elphaba arrived, the large lobby looked larger still with the nearly one hundred students sitting all about, waiting to be told who they would be rooming with for the year. There was a definite air of excitement surrounding the new arrivals, lively conversations and giggling from different groups of girls. It was all very amazing to both Elphaba and Nessarose.

As she pushed the door open with her hand, Nessa could only pray that things would be different here. But the moment they were through the glass double doors, she knew that she would never be so lucky.

If their eyes were drawn in by the girl in a wheelchair, the other students kept looking because of what followed her. Nessa winced, keeping her head down. The room had gone completely silent.

Though Nessarose was resigned to enduring silently, Elphaba would do no such thing.

"What are you all looking at? Never seen a girl in a wheelchair before?"

"Elphaba, please--"

"Or is it me," she said, a threat lingering in her words, as if challenging someone to say anything. Her father had left her angry and she needed some way to work through it.

"Nah, we aint looking at you, frog-girl."

Elphaba spun on her heels, eyes blazing suddenly from deep brown to a bright, violent green. Before her stood a short, muscular looking young man, with a smirk on his face so wide that Elphaba wanted to remove it for him.

"We're looking at this cutie here, aint we boys?"

As though on cue, the three "boys" behind him stepped up next to their friend. Each of them was as intimidating to look at as the next, but Elphaba was only marginally fazed. When one of them made a move to grab Nessa's wheel chair, Elphaba's hand shot out.

"You leave her alone!"

"Or what, greenie?" one of them taunted, wrenching the handles from Elphaba. "You gonna turn me into a toad, too?"

The guy's friends hooted with immature laughter. He started to spin Nessa's wheelchair toward himself and Elphaba's face grew hot with anger and fear.

All around her, people were giggling and pointing. A group of girls just off to the right were laughing hysterically. A young blonde one in the middle was laughing so hard that her face was red. Elphaba glared at her and the girl shut up instantly, but her friends continued to laugh. Elphaba could feel a strange heat coursing through her body as she watched the group. Girls just like them had made her education as a young girl so terrible. It was girls like them, like that blonde little ditz sitting at the center of attention, that made her feel like she was wasn't good enough.

Elphaba turned to the boys, fists balled, her teeth grinding against one another.

"You…leave…her…ALONE!"

Suddenly, the double doors tore open just as an older woman was entering, and a gust of wind threw itself around Nessa and the boys, freeing Nessarose and spinning her back to Elphaba, while throwing the gang to the ground. But the wind didn't stop there; it kept increasing in speed and the young men looked as though they were going to pass out. The air was moving so fast that they almost couldn't breathe. Nessa watched in shock.

"Elphaba, stop it! Elphaba!"

"ENOUGH!"

The entire room turned toward the entrance, wondering where the booming voice had come from. Standing in the entryway was a short, older woman, with blonde hair piled high on her head and makeup so thick that it looked like flour caked onto her pale face. She wore a dress so large it looked like a ball gown and her glasses were small and round, magnifying her small eyes a thousand times. She raised her hands high in the air and the room began to shake with the force of the wind that had been set upon the boys. The air began to throttle them more severely but then, just a quickly, the air rushed away from them and back out the double doors, slamming them shut. The woman turned back to the trembling mass of students, now completely silent, and her gaze fell to Elphaba.

"Who did this?"

The blonde girl jumped up from her perch atop her many suitcases and pointed at Elphaba, her well-manicured finger waving as she spoke in a high-pitched voice.

"She did it!"

Elphaba shot her a glare that made her sit back down, but the damage had been done. Now she had done it; she was going to be sent home before she'd even had one class!

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do it," she said, turning Nessa around. "I'll go now."

"My dear," the woman said, stopping Elphaba before she had gone so much as a foot, "never, _never_ apologize for talent!"

Elphaba let go of Nessa and tried to explain.

"I know, Mam, I—_what did you just say_?"

"Talent, dear, I haven't seen someone who has that sort of control since… well, me!"

Elphaba blinked rapidly, sure she had heard wrong.

"Mam, did you…did you just call what I did… a _talent_?"

The woman pushed her thinly rimmed glasses up on her slim, pointed nose and laughed, a strange cackle, prodding Elphaba with the end of the cigarette holder she was carrying.

"Of course, sweetheart! I am Madame Morrible, headmistress here at Shiz University, and I assure you, what you just did is something very, _very_ few people can do, especially one as young as you!"

As Madame Morrible spoke to Elphaba, the girl who had pointed her out was gaping almost unmannerly.

"Can you believe it? She nearly kills students and the headmistress is all over her!"

"I know, Galinda," the brunette next to her said, twirling her hair with her index finger, "I mean, she just looks like a psycho! And what is with the green?"

The girl she had called Galinda giggled, her blonde curls bouncing around her softly rounded face.

"I don't like her," said Galinda. The girls around her nodded in agreement, chewing their gum noisily. She leaned in to hear what Madame Morrible was saying to the strange looking girl.

"You _are_ in my magic seminar, aren't you? Ah…"

She frowned and then squared her feet and flicked her wrist. In an instant, a soft wind flowed through the room to the lobby's front desk. When it started back towards Elphaba, a clip board was hovering in the breeze.

"What did you say your name was?"

"Uh, I'm Elphaba."

"Oh, and you must be Nessarose!" Madame Morrible patted Nessa's hand enthusiastically. "I've just spoken with your father about your special circumstances and he has agreed to have you stay in the room adjacent to mine in order to ensure your well being."

"Oh, but, Madame Morrible, I need to room with my sister, Elphaba, she takes care of me and--"

"Oh, don't worry, we'll put her nearby. Let's see…."

Madame Morrible flipped through her clip board, searching for the room closes to hers.

"Ah, here we are."

Galinda was chattering with her friends while Madame Morrible told this girl, apparently called "Elphaba", where she was going to be staying.

"I can't believe she wants her in that seminar! I thought it was all full!"

Her brunette friend spoke up again.

"I think you should say something, Galinda."

Galinda thought about it for a moment and jumped up on her suitcase.

"You know what? I think I will."

She hopped down the stair-like array of suitcases and boxes and skipped over to Madame Morrible.

"Excuse me," she said, tapping her lightly on the shoulder, "But I couldn't help but over hear that you are letting this…" she looked Elphaba up and down with a disgusted expression, "this…_student_," she said carefully, "into your magic seminar."

"Why yes, I am," said Madame Morrible, putting a hand to her considerable hips. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Galinda, your headmistress-ness. I applied for your seminar and was told it was full."

Madame Morrible eyed her, thinking back to the applications.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, recalling Galinda's name. "You're the one who wrote the essay on the uses of magic for beauty!"

Galinda smiled brightly.

"Load of rubbish."

She turned back to Elphaba and didn't even notice Galinda's gasp. Elphaba couldn't hold back the tiniest of smiles at the girl's expression. She stalked away to her friends, holding her hands comically in little fists.

"So you will be rooming with…"

"Can you believe the nerve of her?" Galinda looked positively scandalized. "Who does she think she is?" When Galinda next turned to look over her shoulder, Elphaba was bright red from trying not to laugh at her. Galinda felt her face become hot with frustration.

"Oh, Miss Galinda!"

Madame Morrible was waving to her.

"Maybe she changed her mind," one of Galinda's friends said. Galinda immediately dashed over, all evidence of anger erased from her face.

"Yes, Madame Morrible?"

"You have the room just down from mine, yes? The large, single suite?"

"Why yes, Madame Morrible," Galinda said, ever so sweetly. She tilted her head to one side, curls falling in front of her face. She eyed Elphaba with a wicked little grin. "I'm so excited to be so near your room!"

As soon as Madame Morrible turned away to look at her clipboard, muttering to herself, Galinda stuck out her tongue at Elphaba. Elphaba just narrowed her eyes.

"Ah, yes, it is you!" she said turning back to Galinda, who had a smug look on her face.

Madame Morrible smiled, rather bewildered by Galinda's overly cheerful attitude, and then once more addressed Elphaba.

"You will room with Miss Galinda."

"WHAT?"

Galinda, and her entire entourage, were shocked beyond belief. Surely, Madame Morrible could see how strange Elphaba was! She wouldn't subject poor Galinda to that!

"What's the problem, Miss Galinda?"

"But…but," she stuttered, searching for a reason, any reason to stop this from happening, "But I have a private room!"

"I understand, dear,but yours is the only room left!"

Elphaba narrowed her eyes at Galinda, who looked on the verge of bursting. Galinda eyed her with hatred so pure that Elphaba thought she burst into flames from the heated glare. What, did she think that she actually wanted to room with her?

"Madame Morrible, it would really make more sense if Galinda roomed with you. Then Nessa and I could have a room together."

"Nonsense, dear," she replied, giving her a look that told Elphaba she was obviously as averse to rooming with Galinda as Elphaba was. "Nessarose will have more space in my quarters, a bath that has a handle and seat, as well as other amenities that would allow her to take care of herself, for the most part. Anything else, I can assist her with. You will simply have to help her to her classes."

Tired of being talked around, Nessa wheeled herself between Galinda and Madame Morrible.

"I'll stay with you, Madame Morrible," Nessa said. She then turned to Elphaba, giving her a look laden with such sadness that Elphaba had to comprehend it. Living with the headmistress would give her close to freedom, as close as she would ever have. How could Elphaba deny her that, much as they didn't get along?

"I understand," said Elphaba. Galinda turned to her, a look of absolute confusion on her delicate features.

"What?"

"It's fine, Madame Morrible. Do you want me to help you get your things into the room, Nessa?"

Nessa shook her head.

"I'll be fine, Elphaba," she said, with a smile that Elphaba didn't think she'd ever seen before.

"I will take her to my quarters as soon as I have given everyone else their boarding assignments."

With that, Madame Morrible was off, pushing her way to the center of the lobby.

"Thank you, Elphaba," Nessa said, before wheeling away. Elphaba smiled to herself. Well, you did your good deed for the year, thought Elphaba.

Looking at Galinda, her mouth moving rapidly as she complained to her friends, she began to realize just how much of a sacrifice this good deed was going to be. 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Loathing is a Four Letter Word

Galinda flopped down on her bed, eyes reddened by tears. She'd just gotten off of the phone with her father, who had told her she was "simply going to have stick it out, sugar muffin!" Stick it out? _Stick it out?_ She was living with the creature from the other side of Oz! Things couldn't get any worse!

"Galinda, you're going to have to clear your stuff off of at least _one_ shelf in the bathroom. I have to put my things _somewhere_."

Nope, they were worse!

"I'll have you know that I simply cannot spare any space; I need every single one of those products to get hair this perfect!" Galinda pointed to her prefect coif to emphasis her statement. She looked at Elphaba's thick, shiny hair with contempt. It didn't even look brushed!

"Looks like you could use some _more_ products, if you ask me."

Elphaba laid her trunk on the bed.

"I didn't."

Galinda closed her mouth. Rubbing the tears from her eyes, she began to write her letter of complaint to the school.

Elphaba flipped open her trunk. There wasn't much inside; only necessities. A couple of school uniforms, pressed and cleaned carefully by her own two hands, several bits of leather to tie her hair with, and toiletries. There were only two other things in her suitcase and neither of said items had anything to do with school.

She reached in, pulled out her presonal effects, and immediately slid one of them under her pillow, glancing over at Galinda to make sure she hadn't seen where she'd hidden her precious possession. The human water fountain didn't so much as move.

Taking the other item (a thick, leather-bound journal), into her hand Elphaba tried to talk to Galinda.

"We _can_ peacefully co-exist, you know."

Galinda rolled her eyes.

"I mean it. We don't have to be enemies."

This time, Galinda shot Elphaba a look that was anything but friendly.

"Listen here, you… whatever you are," Galinda said, hopping off of her bed. "I don't know why I'm being put through this, but I certainly don't want to make friends with…with…with a plant!"

"I am not a plant!"

Galinda rolled her eyes again, pursing her lips.

"Uh huh. Sure you aren't."

Elphaba had had enough.

"Fine. Believe what you want. You don't want to be friends?"

Galinda nodded, her brow arched, wondering if Elphaba didn't have something planned by the tone of her voice.

"Good."

Immediately, Elphaba ran into the bathroom, and Galinda heard the terrible sound of things being broken.

"Ellllphabaaaaa…"

She toddled her way into the bathroom and gasped at the sight: Elphaba was throwing an entire shelf of her things into the trash can!

"You stop that right this instant, Elphaba!"

"Or what?" Elphaba said darkly. Galinda was immediately reminded of what she'd done to those boys.

"I'll… I'll tell Madame Morrible, that's what I'll do!"

Galinda dashed from the room, fleeing like a frightened rabbit dressed up in pink bows, but Elphaba was hot on her tail. She grabbed for the hem of Galinda's dress and dragged her to the ground.

"Galinda, you are going to give me some space in the bathroom, and that is _final_!"

Elphaba struggle to hold down a squirming Galinda who, despite her best efforts, was no match for Elphaba. Galinda's lips were drawn tightly, tears in her eyes. Elphaba eventually let released her dress. Galinda stood up and brushed herself off, blushing in embarrassment.

"Don't you tell me what to do!"

Elphaba rose to her full height, all the way on the tip of her toes, coming a few inches over Galinda. She stared down at Galinda, a menacing look on her face.

"You'll do it, or I'll _make_ you do it," Elphaba said, a warning heavy in her voice. She hoped the fear of what had happened earlier had not yet left Galinda. When she backed down, pushing past her and going into the bathroom to get her things, Elphaba thought it had worked. She Galinda followed cautiously.

"I hate you," Galinda said, just as Elphaba entered the bathroom. She was on her knees, sifting through the trash can with a look on her face as though she were in terrible pain.

Elphaba laughed and Galinda looked up sharply, surprised to hear the odd sound come out of Elphaba.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked, pushing her things together on the other shelves to make room for the paraphernalia Elphaba had thrown off the middle shelf.

"Looks like we have at least one thing in common," she said. Elphaba went out of the bathroom and Galinda could hear her going through her things and putting them in one of the two closets. But it wasn't the closet space Galinda was concerned with. It was what Elphaba had said.

No one had ever hated Galinda. No one! Nobody had even _disliked_ her before! Galinda pouted as she moved her things and threw out a few broken bottles. She'd make Elphaba pay, literally and figuratively!

Outside the bathroom, Galinda far from her mind, Elphaba was holding something in her hands. It was a vial, as could be seen in the pale light of a candle on the night stand. It was small, rounded at the bottom, and more vibrantly green than even Elphaba herself. Though she knew that it had to be glass, something told Elphaba that it was made of real emerald. It glimmered too brightly in the insufficient light to truly be glass.

Her eyes were so fixed on the vial that she didn't notice Galinda come back in the room.

"What's that?"

Elphaba gasped and shoved it under her pillow.

"Hey, what was that?" Galinda asked again, coming up to the side of the bed. Her hand went for the pillow, but Elphaba grabbed hold of her wrist.

"Hey, you hate me, remember? People that hate each other don't share secrets."

Galinda winced with the harsh grip and tried to pull away, but Elphaba just let go anyway. She rubbed her wrist and sidled back to her bed like an injured animal.

"You don't have to be so mean about it."

Elphaba didn't even look over at her as she responded, continuing to unpack.

"And neither do you. But yet you are."

Galinda shook her hair from her face and examined her damaged wrist.

"A stupid little, air-headed thing like you, being mean must just come naturally."

Galinda shot up from the bed.

"Oh, and I suppose you're so smart, miss queen of the frogs!"

Elphaba put down the dress she was unfolding and gave Galinda a cruel smile.

"As a matter of fact, I am."

Galinda couldn't think of anything to say to that.

"Well…well…I…"

"Go back to your bed, blondie."

Galinda just stood there, not wanting to give Elphaba the satisfaction of doing anything she told her to, but not knowing where to go otherwise. She fidgeted, putting her hands to her hips.

"I don't have to move if I don't want to."

Elphaba grinned wickedly, turning back to her clothes. She picked up a few things and sifted through the remaining contents, not even pretending to be interested. In the next instant, she spun around, brought herself an inch from Galinda's face and said,

"BOO!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Galinda ran from the room, out the door, and into the hallway. She didn't even bother to shut the door, running to the closest room of someone she knew.

Back in their suite, Elphaba chuckled, rather pleased with herself.

------

"I can't believe they are putting you through this, Galinda."

Galinda patted her friend's hand, a practiced look of modesty and anguish on her face.

"I know, I know. But these things are meant to try us, dear friends! It will make me stronger!"

The groups of girls surrounding Galinda, seated on the floor of the dorm room, all clad in their pajamas, nodded, looks of admiration on their faces. How brave their Galinda was!

"Well, we just want you to know that, if you want, we can hate her too, right girls?"

All of them nodded to the brunette, eagerly agreeing. Galinda looked all around her and found sympathy and attention. It almost made her sufferings worth it.

"Thank you, thank you," she said mildly. "That's wonderful of you, really."

The brunette took Galinda's hand in hers with a smile.

"You can stay in my room, Galinda! We can share the bed!"

Galinda smiled sweetly at her friend, but shook her head.

"Oh, no, that's so nice of you, Jenadine, but I really can't do that. I'll face this thing on my own!"

The group clapped admiringly.

"How do you plan on getting through it, Galinda?" one of the group asked. "I wouldn't be able to. You're really taking one for the girls, letting yourself be forced into this arrangement."

Galinda nodded her head toward her blonde friend and smiled.

"I'll just make do. I'll strive forward!"

The girls all couldn't have been more impressed with Galinda. Their greatest expectations of her were true: she was pretty, smart, and now she was so brave, too! The whole school would know about her courage in the morning, if the gathered individuals had anything to say about it. And saying things was the only activity any one of them was good at!

"Galinda, that toad doesn't deserve to be in the same classes as the rest of us. What if it's contagious?"

The girls all gasped, pulling their pillows and blankets to themselves as though to protect their skin from the green disease.

"Why, that's just silly!" Galinda said, laughing a bit too highly. "You can't contract ugly!" But when no one validated that hope, Galinda stuttered "Can you?"

No one responded and it made everyone present all the more nervous.

"Well, as long as none of us touch her, then we'll be just fine!"

This idea from Galinda seemed to be enough to calm them.

"Oh!" gasped Jenadine, looking at her watch. "Galinda, if you're going to go, you'd better get back now! Lights out is in five minutes!"

Immediately, the girls scattered, dashing out the door and running through the dormatory halls. If they weren't in their dorm rooms in four minutes, the doors would magically seal themselves, leaving the girls locked out all night.

Galinda, however, didn't have to run because _her_ room (however unhappy she was about it) was only a few doors down. Despite the urgency, though, she found herself pacing outside of the door, unable to go inside with the promise of another confrontation with Elphaba looming in her mind. She had put up a wonderful front with her friends, but she knew, deep down, just how afraid she was of Elphaba. It didn't help to know that she was not only powerful and smarter than Galinda was, but she was getting into the class Galinda had wanted most! And she had chased her out of the room without so much as raising a little breeze. How was she to go back in now?

Galinda guessed she only had a minute left to make a decision, though, and sleeping in her bed, even if that bed was parallel to the bed of a certain someone, was better than sleeping on the floor where people would find her in the morning. She couldn't let people see her without her hair done!

Galinda grabbed the doorknob and twisted, throwing herself into the room before she could back out. She shut her eyes and pushed her back against the door, waiting for something to be thrown at her.

When nothing came, she slid onto her bottom and waited. She heard something… it was light, barely audible. She opened her eyes.

Elphaba's back was to the door. She was lying on her bed, her body swelling slowly and deflating as she breathed. Galinda could distinctly hear her exhale from where she sat on the floor.

Standing up gingerly, trying not to wake her, Galinda tip-toed through the room, past Elphaba's bed, and sank slowly onto her mattress. The bed creaked just slightly and Galinda gasped and shut her eyes. Please don't wake up, she thought, over and over. Please….please, please, please….

She didn't hear anything for a long, agonizing moment, but then there was that soft sound again, like the murmur of wind through a key hole. Elphaba was unmistakably asleep.

With a sigh of relief, Galinda slipped beneath the covers. Settling her curls gently on her pillow, Galinda nervously turned onto her side and tried to sleep. She knew that she was turned away from Elphaba and her back kept prickling, as if she were standing just behind her.

No one is there, Galinda, she told herself. Just go to sleep.

She shut her eyes and constantly reassured herself of that fact until she felt the haze of sleep descending, blanketing her and removing her fears. With the last blink of her eyes, Galinda fell asleep.

As soon as she heard softened breathing from the bed across from her, Elphaba gently shifted in her bed, sitting up against the head board. Galinda snored and Elphaba rolled her eyes. She should have expected that.

Ignoring Galinda, Elphaba reached under her pillow and pulled out the emerald green vial, the moon light flowing in through an open window glistening inside of it.

After watching it for brief moment, Elphaba exhaled, a deep sadness in her sigh. She replaced the vial under her pillow and pulled something else out from beneath the worn cushion.

Not wanting to alert Galinda, Elphaba reached over to the nightstand instead of getting out of the bed. The scrapping sound as she opened the drawer made her bite her lip and just hope Galinda was as sound a sleeper as she seemed.

Once the drawer was open, Elphaba pulled out an ink pen and laid it on her lap, on top of the leather bound book. Frankly, she shouldn't have been able to sleep with a vial and a book beneath her pillow, but she managed. She'd managed for most of her life and she wouldn't change now.

"Nessa…owes me… big time," Elphaba dictated aloud, scribbling the words into her journal as she spoke them. Galinda rolled over, her snoring much more noticeable now that she was facing Elphaba.

"Note to self…get….muzzle…"

Elphaba laughed softly to herself and put the book back under the pillow and the pen back into the drawer. Looking over at Galinda, Elphaba felt confident that the erratic blonde wouldn't wake up even if she was to slam the drawer closed, but she eased it shut anyway. She didn't want to take any chances.

Elphaba folded her hands in her lap and rested more heavily against the headboard. She tried to rest, to let herself fall asleep, but she didn't even want to lie down. The whole day had just been too full for her; so much had happened! Much as she hated her situation with Galinda, she was going to be part of something that would let her be who she truly was, she could feel it. Now, someone was validating that feeling of worth she had worked so harder to keep alive within her. And she sure as anything wasn't going to let some little blonde idiot ruin any part of it.

Galinda coughed in her sleep and tossed back over, facing away from Elphaba. Her snoring died down.

Despite the tussle with Galinda, Elphaba was feeling better than she had in years. As she shifted her body down and laid her head on the pillow, she thought that maybe, just maybe, she was finally somewhere she could fit in. Even, Elphaba thought as she drifted to sleep, even with her green skin. 


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Paralell

Galinda rolled over, sleep slowly draining from her like water from a tiny hole in a bucket. She tried to hold on to her sweet dream (one in which there was no Elphaba, one could be sure) but it was no use. Sunlight was creeping in through the window, into her eyes, and waking her ever so gently from a surprisingly comfortable sleep.

Once she realized where she was, Galinda shot up in her bed.

"Don't come near me!"

But Elphaba wasn't even there.

Must have gotten up early, thought Galinda. What sort of strange person gets up _early?_ She dismissed the thought; this was _Elphaba_ she was thinking about. She was as strange as they come!

As Galinda sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she began to think that, if this was what her existence at Shiz was going to be like, she wasn't sure she could tolerate it. The attention she got from everyone was wonderful, yes, but would it carry on, keeping her motivated throughout the year?

Galinda shuffled into the bathroom and turned on the faucet, remembering the faces of her friends, even girls she didn't know yet and she thought that she just might be able to endure. If Elphaba left early every day, at least she could get her morning routine done in peace.

When Galinda put her hands under the running water she found it unbearably cold, so she shut it off. She reached in to the shower and turned the nozzle, letting the spray hit the walls of the shower, running down to the drain. She watched it idly.

Looking around her, Galinda was surprised to find that nothing else of hers had been ruined. In fact, it looked as though Elphaba had touched next to nothing before she had left.

"Probably didn't even shower," Galinda said aloud, snickering at her own cleverness. But then a thought occurred to her: What is Elphaba had use the shower? That would mean she'd been in the bathroom, opened the door, touched the… shower knob….

It was… _contaminated_.

Galinda rushed back over to the sink and washed her hands in the now scalding water.

"Must… get it… off!"

She dried her hands on a towel but then dropped it on the floor when she realized that it was already damp; Elphaba had used it!

"Eeeeeeeek!"

Everywhere she turned, there could be remnants of Elphaba! Skin cells just waiting to transform her lovely, pale skin into an atrocious swamp-valley of green!

With a shudder like an earthquake, Galinda tried to calm herself. She had to think of a plan.

Galinda scanned the room and found her disinfectants on the top shelf, just above the toilet.

She crept over the linoleum, hoping against reason that Elphaba hadn't taken her shoes off. She was just tremendously thankful that she had thrown on her pink bunny slippers as soon as she'd woken up. Their sacrifice would be worth it if she could keep her tiny toes the cute little pink color that they were.

Finally, she was able to stand on the toilet and grab hold of a squirt bottle, a sponge, and paper towels. It would cut about twenty minutes out of her get-ready period, but she wasn't about to risk becoming green for one good hair day!

"What am I thinking?" Galinda shouted. "I can't have a bad hair day on the first day of school!"

And with that, Galinda leapt from the toilet, bracing herself against the supposed, invisible terror in the bathroom, and shot the cleaner everywhere she could reach. She rapidly went from door to sink to shower to floor, cleaning faster than she ever had in her life.

When she had finished just a sparse ten minutes later, she collapsed on the closed toilet seat.

"Gah!" she gasped, spun around, and sprayed the toilet seat top. Once it was clean, she sat back down gingerly, exhausted. If it was going to be like this every morning, she was never going to have enough time to fix her hair! She needed that precious ten minutes and all the stress was bad for her follicles!

Checking the time, Galinda realized that she didn't have the luxury of resting. She was just going to have to take the plunge.

Grimacing, Galinda picked up the damp towel she'd tossed to the floor. She flung it out of the bathroom, immediately washed her hands, and then sighed in relief. The room was de-Elphaba-ed, safe to use.

The shower was running gently now, warm water cascading down the stone walls. It was beautiful, really. It was a shame that she had to share it with such a disgusting creature who probably didn't appreciate the grandeur of the gold-inlay of the door handle or the marble trim about the golden shower head. Galinda threw off her clothes and jumped in, three bottles of different bathing products clutched in her right hand.

The steam felt lovely as Galinda breathed it in, clearing her head instantly. The water was the perfect temperature (warm without being too hot) and it made Galinda's skin tingle wonderfully.

With her head titled back and the water flowing over her neck and bare chest, Galinda though that this shower was most certainly worth the extra money her parents were paying for the suite. Elphaba probably didn't appreciate that she was getting special things like this that she wasn't even paying for.

Elphaba. Why couldn't Galinda get her out of her head? She was alone, in a very clean shower, with nothing of Elphaba to bother her, and yet she was still thinking about her.

"Cause it still stinks like her in here," she said with her signature giggle.

It was true; she could still smell Elphaba, despite her best efforts at cleaning the shower. The scent must have been wafting in from the bedroom. It was a strange aroma, a mix of oil and what smelled like a strange, exotic flower. Something almost acidic and faint, but perceivable nonetheless.

Galinda shook her head back and forth to shake the thoughts from her head. The suds in her hair must have been getting to her brain. Stupid Elphaba, Galinda thought angrily. She was going to have to do something about this. Elphaba's scent was going to ruin the wonderful perfume that Galinda had brought with her from Northern Oz!

Running the soft body sponge over her thighs, Galinda wondered what she had done in her past to deserve Elphaba. She'd always been a good girl, always polite, pretty. She just hoped that there was a big reward for her somewhere at the end of this trial.

------

"Where's Elphaba? Where is she?"

"Madame Morrible, class doesn't start for another ten minutes."

The headmistress eyed the young woman in the front row with contempt.

"My dear, I have been teaching this class since before you were born; I know when it starts!"

The girl, who, it is worth noting, was not the only person who had come early, bowed her head, her cheeks reddened considerably. There were at least a dozen girls already in the room, all of whom had hoped to make an impression on Madame Morrible by their enthusiasm, but she had barely noticed any of them. All she did was ask for that Elphaba girl.

"I think I see her now, Madame Morrible!" a particularly small girl piped up. The headmistress was instantly attentive to her. "Where, Miss Andali, where?"

The small young lady leaned toward the window, peering out to the street.

"She's just saying goodbye to that girl in the wheelchair. She's coming in now!"

As soon as she had said as much, Madame Morrible rushed to the door of the classroom and threw it open in anticipation. The girl at the window sat down and all of the other students either stared at her in jealousy or giggled excitedly with her, amazed that Madame Morrible had remembered her name!

"I'm sorry, Madame Morrible," a voice said from outside the door. "Am I late?"

The headmistress opened her arms to invite Elphaba into the room, shaking her head.

"Oh, no, dear, not at all, not at all! In fact, you are early! Some of the other students would do well to take notice of your promptness!"

The rest of the class glared at Elphaba as she entered. With just one glance to the faces about her, Elphaba had the feeling that, lucky as she knew she was to be in the class, her treatment was going to be no different in the seminar than the other three classes she had attended that day. Everyone was going to stare at her, everyone was going to hate her, if not because she green than because she was clearly the most gifted among them.

Well, at least they are all girls, Elphaba thought, feeling exasperated. The boys had thrown paper airplanes at her; at least the girls would be too worried about getting in trouble to bother her much while class was going on.

And with the attention Madame Morrible was paying her, none of them could have gotten away with it, even if they had been brave enough to try.

"Alright then, class, let's get started, shall we?"

"But, Madame Morrible," little Andali squeaked in objection, "not everyone is here yet! And we still have five minutes!"

Madame Morrible raised an eyebrow at the girl and smacked her lips in annoyance.

"Miss…."

"Andali, Madame Morrible. I'm the one who just told you Elphaba was coming?"

Elphaba turned at the speaking of her name. They'd been waiting for her? She looked back at Madame Morrible, a swelling in her heart beyond her explanation spreading through her. This was the first time someone was actually concerned for her in such a way. It felt… _good_.

"Miss Andali, I will have you know that probably none of you will have nearly as much power in your entire bodies as Miss Elphaba here has in her little finger alone! I have minimal faith that any of you will ever reach the pinnacle at which she has only begun. In fact," she said, pulling her glasses down to give Elphaba a wink, "I think that the Wizard will be very interested in your progress."

The girls gasped.

"_The Wizard?_" Andali shouted. "You really think that…that maybe she could meet the Wizard?"

"Meet him?" Madame Morrible laughed. "My dear, my dear, I believe the Wizard could make this young lady…"

The girls all leaned in, waiting with bated breath, but none so enchanted as Elphaba. She was talking about the Wizard! _The_ Wizard!

"I believe you could be the Wizard's Magic Grand Vizier!"

Just at that moment, as Elphaba was grinning from ear to ear, Andali fainted and fell flat on her back.

"Oh!" her friends cried, rushing to her aid. They waved their copybooks in front of her face. Madame Morrible and Elphaba, however, paid them no mind.

"Are you serious, Madame Morrible? You really think that he'd take me on as his apprentice?"

Madame Morrible grinned at Elphaba and waved her cigarette holder at her.

"Oh yes, dear, yes. If you work as hard as you should in my class, the Wizard would be crazy not to!"

Elphaba couldn't believe her ears. Magic Grand Vizier! Could it be true? She'd heard that the Wizard was considering taking on an apprentice, but she hadn't known much about it. What she did know, though, was that the person who came to be the Vizier would work side by side with the man who had come to Oz in a balloon and solved all the problems of old Oz, the man who had built the Emerald City! He was as magical as magic could be and everyone in Oz, great and small, knew who he was.

And Madame Morrible was telling Elphaba that she could not only meet him, but work with him.

"I must be dreaming," Elphaba said, not realizing she'd spoken aloud.

"Oh, you're not dreaming, dear," said Madame Morrible, who had begun writing some notes on the board. "This is very much real."

Elphaba leaned back in the chair, a distant expression on her face. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve this, but she just hoped there wouldn't be too large a price to pay. 


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Parties and Magic and Boys, Oh My!

The first two months of the semester passed by in a flash for Elphaba. She could not remember a time in her life when she had been so happy (ignoring the fact that she couldn't really remember being happy at all, before).

As she went from class to class each day, holding her textbooks close, Elphaba felt wonderfully secure and confident. This was where she belonged. This was where she was going to make her future.

Burgeoned by the new freedoms that living with the headmistress afforded her, Nessarose too blossomed, almost never needing her sister's help. In exchange for not telling their father about Nessa's independence, Elphaba was given an equal amount of freedom; Nessa told their father how duteous Elphaba was being, caring for her every whim. It was a wonderful plan and it worked just fine with both them. The only time they spent together was at lunch once a week, when they would meet in the cafeteria at the western end of campus.

They discussed many things; of course, their newfound happiness was a frequent topic, but most of their conversations surrounded the amazing progress that Elphaba was making in all of her classes. More specifically, they talked about magic.

"I still can't believe she thinks you'll be ready by next semester," Nessa said, stirring her rice so it would cool. "I mean, think about it, Elphaba. You've been here for less than a semester and already people are talking about you! And in a good way, for once!"

Elphaba smiled softly. She'd never thought she'd be hearing these words, especially out of her sister's mouth. It was an amazing feeling that, for once, they didn't have to hate each other. And what Nessa said was true. While the chatter everyone else engaged in was almost always negative, no one could avoid the fact that Elphaba was quickly rising to the head of her class. She was thriving at Shiz and everyone knew it, whether they admitted it or not.

"I feel like my future is unlimited, Nessa, like I could do anything! Magic just makes me feel so… I don't know, special, I guess."

Nessa grinned sideways at her sister.

"What's that look for?"

Nessa snickered.

"I've just never heard you talk this way, you know, like you have dreams and desires. It's heartening. Makes you sound more human."

Elphaba winced at the comment. She didn't quite know if it was a compliment.

"I'm sorry, I've offended you," Nessa said, obviously repentant. She hadn't meant to hurt Elphaba. It was nice that they were getting along. And, in a way, they understood each other better than anyone else did. They were both outcasts, in their own ways: Nessa because of her chair, Elphaba because of her skin.

"It's alright, Ness. It's the truth." Elphaba looked away, not really concentrating on what she saw. "I know that people think I'm strange, but I'll prove to them all that I'm better than they are."

She turned back to Nessa, a fire in dark eyes.

"You know it, Nessa. You've been there when… things _happened_," she said, getting rather excited. "You know that there is something important about it, something that will change Oz forever."

Nessa took a bite of her food and nodded.

"Just try to be careful, Elphaba," she said, caution in her voice. She didn't want Elphaba ruining things by calling attention to herself, despite their newfound closeness. Just wait until we are out of Shiz, she thought. Then you can ruin your own reputation with your crazy dreams; just leave me out of it.

"Uh oh," Elphaba said suddenly, looking over at the cafeteria entrance. "It's the blonde bubble head."

Nessa turned back to see Galinda enter with her usual entourage. She sighed emphatically.

"Now really, Elphaba, she's not as bad as you think."

"Not as bad as I think? Not as… Nessa, were you not listening when I told you she sprays the floor with disinfectant whenever I take off my shoes? She thinks I'm some sort of disease!"

Nessa shook her head. "Maybe if you just tried to talk to her--"

"No. Not happening. She hates me, remember? I tried once, I'm not trying again." Elphaba sighed and took another sip of her juice. "She's too wrapped up in herself to notice me lately anyway."

Elphaba gestured to her as she was sitting down, a small crowd instantly materializing at the table she selected.

"Look at her, Nessa. I'll never be like that."

Nessa watched as the table filled with people, all of them riveted by Galinda. There had to be half a dozen boys at the tiny table, all crammed in and staring at her. One of them turned toward Nessa and Elphaba's table (which, none too surprisingly, was occupied by only the sisters), catching Nessa's eye.

"Did you see that?" Nessa asked, turning back to Elphaba with a glow of red in her cheeks. "That young man just looked at me."

Elphaba frowned.

"Are you sure he wasn't just staring at me?"

Nessa balked. "And what is _that_ supposed to mean? I'm not pretty enough to look at but you are?"

"Staring, Ness, not looking! I meant that he could have just been staring at me because Galinda probably made some joke about me. I know that I'm her favorite target."

Sure enough, laughter wafted over from the packed table. Nessa sat back, realizing that Elphaba was probably right. Who in their right mind would look at her when Galinda was there? The boy had probably just turned to stare at Elphaba and seen Nessa by accident.

But that didn't stop her from turning back again.

"Elphaba," Nessa said, reaching out unconsciously for her sister's hand, "he was looking at me! He was, because he just did it again!"

She turned back to Elphaba with a look of hope on her face that Elphaba hadn't the heart to discourage.

"I guess he was then, Nessa. Sorry."

Nessa didn't hear her, though. She was too busy watching the happenings at the other table, trying her hardest to listen but not hearing much of anything over the crowd.

"I think I should ask him to go to the Ozdust party."

Elphaba nearly spat out her porridge.

"The _Ozdust_? You must be joking!"

Her expression told Elphaba that she was absolutely anything but.

"But, Nessa, you can't dance!"

Nessa countered with such a determined look that Elphaba was nearly frightened. She was really going to do this!

"Elphaba, this could be my one chance to find someone, a boy who would look twice at me, even with you sitting here!" Elphaba swallowed and Nessa ignored her. "If he isn't afraid of you and he actually likes me, then he might be the one!"

Elphaba could not move herself to disagree.

"Elphaba," Nessa said, her voice suddenly pleading and gentle, "could you talk to Galinda for me?"

"WHAT?"

"Please, Elphaba? I know that you two don't like each other, but this is for me. Can't you put aside your stupid vendetta and help me?"

"Nessa, I know this seems important to you," Elphaba said, pushing away her plate, "but how am I supposed to help?"

Nessa pouted, tears filling her large eyes. "Galinda must know him. She could talk to him for me."

"You're asking for a lot here."

Nessa placed a hand on Elphaba's, squeezing gently.

"It would mean a lot to me if you would try."

What was she to do? Say no and risk the growing bond between them? Say yes and risk Galinda refusing anyway?

Looking at her sister, her heart on her sleeve, Elphaba knew there was only one possibility.

Elphaba returned Nessa's smile and covered her sister's hand with her opposite one. She gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Alright, Ness. I'll give it a try."

"Oh, Elphaba, thank you! You won't regret this!"

Elphaba looked over at the table and got a nice glare from a certain blonde in return.

She swallowed her nerves and shook her head. This wasn't going to be easy.

------

"What is she _looking_ at?"

Galinda turned away from Elphaba's piercing stare, fretting to the many attentive ears at the table. She was immeasurably happy to find so many of them looking right at her, hanging on to her every word.

"She's probably jealous because you're so beautiful and she's so ugly, Galinda," said one of the girls to her left. She giggled, covering her mouth coyly.

"Gee, do you really think so?"

The girl blushed and nodded.

"Aww, that's sweet, thank you."

She turned to chat with another girl, but someone spoke before she could tell her about the new dress she'd bought for next week's party.

"If you want, I could go tell her to stop looking, Miss Galinda."

Galinda tuned to find the voice, but there seemed to be no one there.

"Right here, Miss Galinda, right here," the voice said. Her gaze fell downward two feet.

"Oh, Pick, that's alright. You don't need to do that," she said, smiling at the Munchkin boy who insisted on following her and her group. "Very nice of you to ask, though."

Just then, Elphaba and Nessa started to leave their table.

"Who is that girl with her?" asked one of the many girls seated at the table. "I didn't think that the lizard had any friends."

The entire table snickered appreciatively at the comment.

"It's her sister," Galinda answered, unthinkingly. Everyone turned to her, shocked.

"You don't… _talk_ to her, do you, Galinda?"

Everyone leaned forward for her answer.

"Well, _no_! No, of course not," Galinda said, relieved when everyone settled down. "I'd never talk to her on _purpose_, of course, but I can't help overhearing when she's talking to the voices in her head!"

Everyone laughed very heartily at this, relieved by the explanation. They would hate to think that Galinda had to actually listen to the green menace, in addition to tolerating her presence!

"You know, Galinda, that party at the Ozdust is only a week away," one of the boys said, nudging the guy next to him. "Are you going to pick a date?"

Galinda flushed and giggled at the question, dancing around it.

"Oh, I don't know yet. I'm sure I'll find the right guy soon."

The Munchkin boy stood on his seat and addressed Galinda.

"I hope you'll save a dance for me, Galinda. I'll be there all night, waiting for you."

Galinda laughed lightly but shook her head, motioning for him to sit.

"That's sweet, Biq."

"Uh, it's Boq, Miss Galinda."

She threw her hair back with a sigh, noticing that her roommate was approaching.

"Whatever," she said, pretending to pay no attention to Elphaba. One of the girls next to Galinda began talking energetically in her ear about the new shoes she'd bought, but Galinda didn't hear her. Her eyes could not divert from Elphaba; she had just looked up at and their eyes met.

Elphaba and Nessa passed the table and there was total silence. The gaze with which Elphaba held Galinda's was intense, like something she'd never felt before. It scared her to no end, but she could not look away.

Finally, Elphaba lowered her head and pushed Nessa forward. Galinda's eyes followed Elphaba until the green and black silhouette was lost through the glass doors of the cafeteria.

"What was _that_ about?"

Galinda looked down at her friend and struggled to elicit a smile from her shocked muscles.

"She was just trying to intimidate me," she said, giggling nervously. "But I'm not afraid of her."

In the silence of the others, though, Galinda was able to hear the pounding of her own heart. She glanced fleeting to the doors, wondering if she might still see Elphaba standing there, might feel her burning gaze on her once more. But she was already gone.

Galinda gave a tremendous sigh and put her hands down on the table to brace herself and keep her body from shuddering.

"I'm hungry."

Immediately, half the members of the table leapt up and rushed to the lunch line.

Galinda sat back and tried to catch her breath. The remaining few people chatted idly about anything but that awkward moment with the strange Elphaba. Galinda rubbed her temples, which caused some of the latent perfume on her skin to warm and the scent floated to her attention. She took a deep breath, hoping the perfume would calm her, but there was more than just the scent of the perfume on her skin. She detected another scent, something sharp and intrusive. She bit down on her lip and felt tears creeping into her eyes.

Get a hold of yourself, Galinda! she told herself. She smacked her cheeks lightly. She needed to get away, she decided. She had to go somewhere that Elphaba wasn't, somewhere the prying questions of her 'friends' could not reach her. Galinda stood up and told those left (mostly girls) that she was going to the bathroom. All of the girls stood up, intent to accompany her, but Galinda told them to sit back down.

"Oh, I'm just going to powder my nose. It'd be a waste of time for _all_ of us to go in."

The girls looked a bit shocked (Galinda always had them follow her to the girls room) but complied. They exchanged worried looks as Galinda headed towards the bathrooms.

Once in the hall that led to the bathrooms, though, Galinda went the wrong way. She turned right instead of continuing to go straight until she was at the back door. She flung it open and gasped for air like a swimmer coming up from a deep dive.

Why was she feeling this way? Elphaba, she thought bitterly. That girl was making it difficult for her to concentrate. Everywhere she went, people were talking about her. She just didn't know what to do to escape.

Didn't they realize that she didn't like to hear about Elphaba? She had to tolerate her presence every night! She had to listen to her in the shower, singing songs that Galinda had never heard before in her painfully pretty voice. She had to see her in history class, where she always held her hand up high and straight to answer every question because she was so smart. And she had to see her face every single day, that sharp angle to her nose that was strangely attractive set between her elegant, high cheekbones. Even her skin, which Galinda had initially thought to a terrible, murky color, was now more like a warm, forest green. Worst of all, she had to live with the knowledge of her being in the advanced magic seminar next semester. Galinda felt like she was nothing next to Elphaba!

Galinda let out a weak sob and ran as fast as she could toward her dorm. Elphaba was in class; she could just be alone.

------

Elphaba had sat down with her book about an hour ago and she was still waving her hands in wide, slow circles. She was using a concentration exercise that Madame Morrible had taught her in the hopes that it would help her focus her energy into the spells. If she was lucky, Elphaba would be able to create a small storm beneath her hands.

Though she'd thought several times that there was a puff of grey beneath her palms, there was nothing there (at least, nothing visible) when she stopped to get a closer look. After a few failures, she had just kept going and had been lucky enough to form a few small clouds.

When she had created about her seventh miniature cloud, she started to work on adding rain.

Just as she was thinking that she should get something to catch the water if (rather, when) she succeeded, she heard a key being inserted into the door.

Who could be coming in at this time of day? Elphaba wondered. Most of the students should have been at class. Madame Morrible had given her the day to work on her spells since she already knew how to summon energy, which is what the class was working on that day.

It was probably someone trying to break in and steal something of Galinda's, she thought. As funny as she should have found it that someone was that obsessed with her roommate, it actually made Elphaba concerned. Just because she was an idiot who cared only about herself didn't make it right for people to invade her—and, in essence, Elphaba's—privacy.

"Who's there?"

She barely got out the words before the 'who' stumbled into the room.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

The words came out of Galinda's mouth before she had a moment to truly think. She bit her lip to stop herself, but it was too late.

"I could ask you the same thing," Elphaba replied casually. She felt rather stupid, getting defensive of Galinda, even if it was only in her mind. She was downright icy when Galinda asked her again why she was there and not in class.

"Because I don't need to have my hand held to do a simple spell," she said, the air charging and sparkling beneath her hands. Galinda watched in wonder as a grey mass grew beneath Elphaba's hands.

"What are you doing?" she asked, genuinely interested. Elphaba moved her hands more quickly and the mass began to pulse until little droplets of water actually started falling from it.

"Are you doing magic?" she asked, watching like an enchanted child. Elphaba scoffed at her.

"Of course I'm doing magic, idiot."

Galinda glared at her.

"Hmph. What's your problem?"

Elphaba pulled her hands up higher, making the cloud larger.

"You."

Galinda frowned, furrowing her brow. She sauntered over to her bed. To her surprise, there was a large package sitting on top of her sheets.

"Is this mine?"

Elphaba nodded distractedly, the cloud becoming about the size of a pillow. There was a small flash of light.

"YES!"

Galinda picked up the box and set it on her lap.

"You don't have to shout!"

Elphaba threw down her hands and grinned, not caring how irritating Galinda was being. She had just created lightning!

"I just went beyond the spell that Madame Morrible set for me to do," Elphaba explained, her words quick and charged. "She thought that I might just be able to make a small rain cloud, but I did that easily _and_ I've already made lightning!"

Galinda tried not to look up as Elphaba built up another cloud, this time much more easily and quickly than when Galinda had first entered the room. She tried to concentrate instead on the rounded box in her lap, but Elphaba wouldn't let her.

"Morrible thinks that I'll be ready to meet the Wizard after the next semester."

Galinda's jaw dropped, but Elphaba didn't see her. Galinda tore open the wrapping on the box in frustration, shredding the paper and tossing it to the floor.

When she opened the box, she found a bunch of tissue paper which she threw to the ground, cursing under her breath.

"Stupid… Elphaba… I should be… meeting the Wizard… not the…human… lily pad…"

From beneath the layers, Galinda finally pulled out a tall, thin, pointed, black hat.

"Eew…" she said quietly. From the hat fell a small card, which Galinda scooped up.

Oh, it's from Auntie Pudle, she thought to herself, reading the swirling handwriting. Her Aunt was always sending her unwanted gifts like these. What in the world was she going to do with it? It would be such a waste to throw it out, but she wouldn't think of giving it to any of her friends. She could only wish that fashion blunder on someone she really hated.

Galinda looked at the hat, to Elphaba, back to the hat, and then to Elphaba again. A very dark thought crossed her mind.

"Oh, Elphaba," she said, in the sweetest note she could manage.

Elphaba turned, so startled by that tone being used toward her that she lost control of her fledgling storm.

"What do you want?"

Galinda jumped up from the bed, rushed over to Elphaba, and plunked the hat down on her head, which fit snuggly but perfectly. Elphaba's head spun downward, the pointed tip of the hat making Galinda jump back.

"What's this?"

Having wrenched the hat from her head, Elphaba examined the flared rim, flipping it over and looking for anything life threatening. Galinda giggled.

"It's my new hat. I tried it on but," she said, pointing to her head, "it'd ruin my curls! You have straight hair so…"

"Why are you giving this to me?" Elphaba said, her voice thick with skepticism. She watched Galinda carefully.

"Well," Galinda shuffled her feet. "Aren't you going to the party at the Ozdust?"

Elphaba reared back and cackled, a sounds that Galinda found frightening and surprising; she had never heard Elphaba laugh that way before.

"The Ozdust? Me? Oh, you are funny, Galinda."

Galinda tapped her foot and crossed her arms, making her look very annoyed. She wasn't going to let Elphaba slip out of her grasp that easily.

"I think that it would look great with that black dress you keep in the closet…"

Elphaba was unabashedly gaping at Galinda. What in the world had come over her? As she watched her run to the closet, Elphaba wondered what she was up to.

"I guess you'd like the money back, for whatever you paid for it," Elphaba said, trying to find falseness in the gift. She had to admit, she very much liked the hat. It suited her.

"Oh, no, silly," Galinda said with a toss of her hair. "It's a present! As long as you wear it to the party." She returned with one of Elphaba's own frocks and pressed the dress to Elphaba's chest. As the green girl looked over the ensemble, Galinda had to fight a snicker.

"Thank… thanks," Elphaba said, a small layer of the frigid exterior she reserved just for Galinda fading away. She dusted the hat gently and then stood up to place it on her night stand and return the dress to its hanger.

"Um, Galinda?"

"Yes, Elphaba?" Galinda said softly, looking down at Elphaba's spell book absently.

"There was something I wanted to ask you," Elphaba said then, summoning up all of her nerve, "for Nessarose, not for me…"

Elphaba mentally cursed herself. It was too strange being nice to Galinda; she couldn't form her mind around it, let alone find the words.

Galinda stared at Elphaba, wide eyed. She'd never seen Elphaba anything but confident and she sounded and looked entirely unsure of herself.

"It's just… there's this guy," she started and Galinda instantly knew what she was trying to get out.

"And she'd like me to see if he'd take her to the Ozdust party?"

Elphaba nodded, blushing.

"Yeah… It's this Munchkin boy--"

"Oh, you mean Nick!" Galinda said with a grin. She'd been desperate to get him off her back. This was the perfect opportunity for her to knock out two birds with one stone!

"I'd be _happy_ to ask him if he'd take Nessa to the party."

"You would?" Elphaba said, shocked. "I mean, that's great!"

Elphaba laughed and Galinda laughed. Their eyes met for a moment, but then there was an awkward silence in the wake of their laughter and their eyes shied away.

"Thanks, Galinda," Elphaba said softly. "It'll mean a lot… to Nessa, I mean…"

Elphaba bit her lip, cross with herself. She felt so stupid. She could answer any question on the healing properties of aloe or the magical uses of flower petals, but when faced with this, with Galinda, she was lost.

Before Elphaba could react, Galinda crossed the small gap between them and gingerly placed a hand on Elphaba's shoulder. She held gently and smiled.

"It's the least I could do."

With that, Galinda turned around and went to the door.

"See you in history!"

Throwing Elphaba a wave over her shoulder, she was gone.

Elphaba, however, remained, still as death, completely in shock. The place where Galinda had touched her was oddly warm and a shudder she had fought resonated from that spot to every part of her body.

Slowly, Elphaba tried to replay the recent past in her mind.

She hadn't done anything differently. In fact, over the last few days, she had treated Galinda more harshly. It helped to counter the growing, conflicting emotions that accompanied thoughts of Galinda in any capacity other than 'mortal enemy'. She had noticed Galinda treating her in the same fashion, whenever their paths crossed. Normally, Galinda simply avoided her.

Nothing in her memory told Elphaba what she had done to suddenly be in Galinda's favor, but the thought made her strangely happy inside.

Elphaba shook her head, hard. This was _Galinda_ she was thinking about! _Galinda_! The girl she loathed and hated! What was she thinking, wanting to feel her hand there again? Why couldn't she stop thinking about the way her hair bounced when she smiled?

Because she never smiles at you, a voice inside her said.

She swallowed her pounding heart and decided that she had gotten far enough with her spells. She could afford to take a long, cold shower before history class. 


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Regression

The class of History A1 filed into the classroom as it usually did: noisily and reluctantly. The boys flirted shamelessly, hoping to catch a date to the Ozdust and the girls laughed at every joke, flirting back, hoping to get asked.

Elphaba did not blame her classmates for being excited about the party (she refused to call them her fellow students, as none of them actually studied enough to be addressed as such) but did they have to do it now, when class was about to start? It wasn't as if they didn't have hours outside of their school schedule to discuss the upcoming event. It was ridiculous to think that there was anything more that could be said about it.

But Elphaba noticed that one person in particular, one whom she had expected to be chattering away the loudest about the Ozdust, hadn't so much as opened her mouth.

Galinda was sitting at her desk, legs crossed, a distant look in her water-blue eyes.

What is she so upset about? Elphaba found herself wondering. She'd never seen anything other than a practiced smile or a pout on those perpetually pink lips. Yet, there she was, looking as though she'd just been told that she would be living with Elphaba forever.

Elphaba flipped open her text book, trying not to think about her roommate. She should have been thinking about other things, maybe talking to the others. If she didn't get a date herself, how was she going to ever wear that hat Galinda had given her?

Elphaba blushed at that thought. It was a gift, the first present she had ever received. Everything her father had ever given her was more out of necessity: clothing, food, and things for her room like her bed. No one had given her anything before that was not simply needed.

But Galinda had. Galinda had given her a gift, albeit something she hadn't really planned on giving to Elphaba, but she had given it nonetheless. Galinda never ceased to amaze her.

Stop thinking about her! Elphaba commanded herself. Luckily for her, though, the professor was already entering, causing her thoughts to immediately move to her work.

To her surprise, the rest of the class quickly fell silent as well. It's about time, she thought, as Dr. Dillamond shuffled in, brief case held in his one hand. His hooves clopped on the hard flooring, but it did not disrupt Elphaba's thinking. It was a sound, in fact, that the students were quite accustomed to. Dr. Dillamond was an Animal, an individual who had features of an animal (in his case, specifically, that of a goat) but stood erect and spoke as any normal human would. But that wasn't the reason nearly every student was staring at the door. Their instructor had not entered alone.

"Who is _that_?"

Elphaba immediately looked up from her textbook, not to the door, but to the person who had spoken. Galinda was leaning over her desk, her expression completely changed. With a look in her eyes that Elphaba dared not place, she was staring at the someone at the door.

Elphaba turned, wondering who could elicit such a wanton look from Galinda, and tried not to look as surprised as she felt.

There was a young man who looked about nineteen standing behind the professor, hands in his pockets. He wasn't so much tall as his lean shape made him look longer. He had the body of a runner; he was muscular without being overtly so. There was an edge to his features, but a gentleness in his blue eyes that sparkled with child-like innocence. His hair was colored like a corn field in midmorning, cut short but still reaching his ears, which forced him to constantly touch his cheekbones in order to brush the hair away from his neck. His bone structure was angular, softened only by a small, slightly blunted nose.

By the way everyone was staring, he could have been wearing a sack and they still would have fawned over him. But, to make matters worse, he was clad in what looked like very expensive, very fine garb. His tunic was finely woven and of the purest white fabric (difficult to come by in so pure a color) and his vest looked as though it had been created from rubies rather than wool. His short trousers were simple, but the fabric was visibly comfortable and stopped at his boots, which met the trousers at the knee, laced up tightly, calling attention to his muscular calves. Everyone, young lady or gentleman, was watching him so closely, so intently, that an outsider looking on would have thought the new arrival to be for sale and the class to be the bidders, examining the possible purchase.

"Class, I'd like you to meet our new student," Dr. Dillamond said over his shoulder, utterly oblivious to the attention the young man was being paid. "His name is Fiyero and he will be joining us for the remainder of the semester."

"Fiyero," Galinda said to herself. He was gorgeous and she could tell already that she wasn't the only one who thought so. Everyone wanted him. She laughed inwardly as he took the vacant seat next to her, enjoying the glares and disappointed sighs that followed his choice.

He's mine, her eyes said to anyone who dared look back at them. Several people looked away reluctantly, but no one even tried to talk to Fiyero after that. No one was going to fight Galinda for him. Not if they hoped to come out of the battle with a social life.

Galinda looked Fiyero over, thinking that everyone was probably watching her. Fiyero gave her a soft smile and she felt her insides quiver.

Elphaba's mouth, unbeknownst to her, was wide open. She watched Galinda, all but throwing herself on top of the new student (she scoffed inwardly; he probably wasn't worthy of that term either, by the look of him), and she felt her blood boil.

Who does he think he is, she thought angrily, taking the seat next to Galinda? She'll tell him to go. He's just a new student; Galinda already has ten boyfriends lined up!

But to Elphaba's surprise, Galinda flirted with him, batting her eyes and giggling at nothing at all.

Elphaba watched them, not even talking yet, until she noticed that Fiyero was looking, not at Galinda, but at her. He gave her a wide grin, but what he got in return could only be called a 'death glare'.

"We'll start where we left off, on the old laws. Can anyone remind us what law we were on?"

Elphaba's hand shot up as it normally did, but backed with a fierceness that Elphaba didn't know she had in her. She was furious; how dare he grin at her like that? She wasn't Galinda, impressed by his pretty face. Elphaba bit back a growl when Dr. Dillamond called on her.

"So, Fiyero," she heard Galinda say on the edge of her hearing, "that's an exotic name. Where are you from?" Galinda's hair bounced on either side of her face as she tilted her head to one side.

"Well, let's just say no where near here," a deeper voice said, a voice rich and colored with only the slightest of accents. Who was he trying to fool? Elphaba thought bitterly. He's probably just wants people to think he's from somewhere in Northern Oz with that fake accent.

"The laws against Animals owning homes, Professor," Elphaba felt herself say.

"Well, if you're new, and not from around here, then you probably don't have a date to the Ozdust…"

Elphaba bit her lip, trying to concentrate on the third law. Animals cannot own homes, but may live… but… but may live…. She couldn't concentrate. She turned back to look at Galinda, but only found Fiyero's pale blue eyes on her again.

She quickly turned away, amazed and frightened to find him looking at her. Not that she should have been shocked; everyone stared at her when they first saw her. He'd get over the novelty just like everyone else.

"The Ozdust? Is that a party or something?" Fiyero asked, not looking at Galinda. He was watching the back of the green girl's head as she answered a question. She certainly knows her history, he thought, listening to her response. Must be a book worm.

"Oh, yes, it's a big party they have here, only once a year," Galinda said, her head still off to the side as though she weren't really interested in whether or not Fiyero was going. As her eyes wandered, her sight inevitably fell on a certain individual with green skin.

Oh, not her again, Galinda chastised herself. She had to stop thinking about her.

She turned back to Fiyero, who was apparently very interested in the discussion being had between Dr. Dillamond and that girl who Galinda would rather have not been thinking about. Galinda taped her foot unhappily.

"Are you planning on going, Fiyero?"

He started, turning back to Galinda reluctantly, his eyes still partially on Elphaba. Every now and then, she would turn around and look in his direction. He smiled, each time more charmingly than the last, but she just turned back to the professor and hastily threw up her hand, even if he hadn't asked a question.

"Eh hem," Galinda cleared her throat and Fiyero finally looked right at her.

He blinked a few times, his soft lashes fluttering over his eyes like curtains of night covering up the blue skies of day. Galinda swallowed carefully.

How delicate he was! And yet how decidedly rugged! He had a bit of stubble on his chin and a look about him that suggested danger. Galinda was instantly besotted. He was the exact opposite of Elphaba, the perfect person to get her mind off of her roommate.

"I can't really go if I don't have a date," he said and Galinda had to bite her lip to keep from squealing. "I don't suppose a pretty girl like you doesn't already have one?"

Galinda looked away, patting down her hair as though she hadn't been hoping he would ask that.

"Actually, I'm still looking."

Fiyero gave a low chuckle that made Galinda tingle all over. She returned his laughter with a high pitched giggle of her own, causing a few eyes to turn back to them, a set of piercing green ones nearly burning a hole through the desk.

And then they did.

"Your desk!"

Fiyero immediately jumped up from his seat, threw off his tunic, and stamped out the flames that had begun to roar to life over Galinda's desk and in her lap. She screamed and leapt up, causing the fire to grow on her skirt.

"Put it out! Put it out!"

Fiyero, seeing no other alternative, forced Galinda to the ground and suffocated the fire with his tunic and vest.

Galinda took in several fitful gulps of air. Fiyero had her pinned to the ground, his bare chest pressed against her blazer. She looked into his eyes as he tried to get up and felt a warm smile spread across her lips.

"Oh, Fiyero, thank you," she said, pushing herself up on her elbows. As he stood, he offered his hand.

"It's no problem ah…" he said, ignoring the many eyes on his exposed skin.

Elphaba had to stop herself from burning a hole through _him_.

"Galinda," she said, taking his hand. "It's Galinda."

Fiyero smiled and repeated the name to himself.

Galinda, surprisingly, didn't even turn to Elphaba. The green girl thought that Galinda would assume she had caused the fire, but she didn't so much as look at Elphaba. She felt strangely troubled by this.

"Alright class, settle down, settle down," Dr. Dillamond said, his horns shaking as he wrote something on the board, not at all unsettled by what had happened. As far as he knew, Elphaba had no real control over her powers yet and, as the only student who actually seemed to care about his class, he wasn't about to reprimand her for something beyond her control and risk being the reason for her leaving the class.

Galinda and Fiyero sat down, a flush of embarrassment on his cheeks when he realized he was now without a shirt. Galinda didn't even care that her skirt had been burned and barely thought for a second before removing her blazer and throwing it around Fiyero. She didn't want anyone else ogling him.

Elphaba cursed under her breath. She had to stop this. Galinda meant nothing to her! Nothing! They weren't even friends, really. If she ever expected to meet the Wizard, she couldn't go about burning up desks whenever she became jealous! Besides, what did she have to be jealous about? It wasn't as though she even liked Fiyero or… well, she just didn't have anything to be jealous about! She reminded herself of that over and over again, but she was about as close to convincing herself of that as she was to becoming an actual frog.

Just as Fiyero was leaning toward Galinda again, trying to whisper something in her ear, Boq, who was seated just behind them, tossed a note onto her damaged desk.

Annoyed, Galinda unfolded it quickly, not trying to conceal it in the least. Dr. Dillamond hadn't even reacted to her being lit on fire! She held the note closely to her face and read the scrawled words to herself.

"I couldn't help over hearing that you don't have a date...would you… Oh, Pock…"

Galinda looked back at Boq, who was smiling hopefully at her, then to Fiyero, who gave her an inquisitive look, and lastly, to the front of the class, to the girl with thick, black hair.

Suddenly remembering what Elphaba had asked her, she scribbled something on the back of the note and handed it back to Boq, smiling at Fiyero as she did so.

Boq gave a sharp gasp and rapidly wrote a reply. Galinda seized the note and read it with a devious grin:

_I would be happy to take Nessarose to the party! I would do anything for you, Miss Galinda. Just tell her to meet me outside of the Ozdust at eight thirty. I'll be wearing a white rose._

Yours,

Boq

Galinda gave Fiyero another smile, folded up the note, and threw it to Elphaba's feet. Elphaba picked it up cautiously, giving Galinda a strange look. Galinda motioned for her to read it.

What in the world could she want to say to me? Elphaba worried. Probably just going to tell me that she and Fiyero are…wait… this….

Elphaba looked back at Galinda with look of such shock that it made Galinda snicker. Elphaba, who Galinda had never seen taken by surprise by anything or anyone, was so stunned that she told the professor that the name of the Animal who had helped overturn the law against Animals owning homes was named

"White rose?"

"Yes, of course—well, no. What did you say, Elphaba?"

Elphaba shook her head and hid the note behind her back, smiling through her confusion.

"Uh, I'm sorry, Dr. Dillamond. It was P.G. Falcon."

Dr. Dillamond looked a bit perplexed, but nodded, turning back to the board, dragging the chalk through the last section of writing.

"And now we will review the notes on the riots that ensued after that law was overturned," he said, spinning the chalkboard to the other side. But there were no words written in his carefully constructed handwriting.

The class gasped in horror at the words that were on the board, words drawn more than written, in thick strokes of red that they all hoped was paint:

ANIMALS SHOULD BE SEEN, NOT HEARD.

"Animals should be… oh…"

Dr. Dillamond turned slowly to the class, his head lowered.

"Who is responsible for this?" he asked, his voice dark and low, without inflection. When no one answered, his question grew louder and his head came up, revealing a silent anger in his eyes.

"Who… is responsible… for this."

No one could even meet his eyes.

"No one, then? Hmm."

He turned back to the board, hands at his side. He looked over the words once more, hoping he had been mistaken, but there they were, bold as blood.

"Dr. Dillamond, we should tell Madame Morrible about this…"

He turned to find Elphaba slipping out of her seat, her plaintive eyes searching for his, but he could not bear to look at her, to see the understanding in her eyes, to know that she, too, comprehended the dark omen the words represented.

"Class dismissed," he said, shooing Elphaba away. The students moved slowly, not really sure if they should leave. Many of them were afraid to.

"GO!"

No one had to hear it twice.

"Come on, Fiyero," Galinda said, taking his hand. But Fiyero wasn't as eager to leave. He watched the green stranger approach the professor, curiosity rising in him once more.

"But, what about--"

"Oh, forget about her, silly. We've got plans to discuss."

Galinda all but dragged Fiyero from the room.

"Who would write such a thing?" Elphaba said, fear in her usually confident voice. Dr. Dillamond turned to her suddenly, an indescribable look of pain on his face.

"There has been talk, Elphaba, of terrible things, terrible things…"

Elphaba slowly came up behind Dr. Dillamond, cautiously laying a hand on his back.

"What do you mean, Professor?"

He leaned against the board, trying to master his emotions, but it was far too much for him to push down. With this sort of trouble reaching Shiz, he had reason to be afraid.

"There have been stories spreading, about Animals in high positions that suddenly… regress."

"Regress?" Elphaba repeated in spite of herself. "I don't understand."

Dr. Dillamond turned, his back to the words on the board. He watched Elphaba for a moment, wondering how much he could tell such a young girl without frightening her unnecessarily.

Knowing Elphaba as he did, though, he was sure that she could handle it.

"Animals across Oz have been losing the power of speech… and reverting to their primal ways."

Elphaba gasped.

"Something can be done, of course, professor? A cure can be found?"

"No, no," Dr. Dillamond said, throwing off his cloak in frustration. "There is no cure, because it is being done on purpose. It isn't a natural occurrence"

Elphaba took a few steps back, not believing what she was hearing. Did he intend to say that people were… _hurting_ Animals?

"Dr. Dillamond, someone should tell the Wizard about this."

The professor stopped rubbing his eyes and peered at Elphaba from under his lowered horns.

"The Wizard? Do you think that he would listen to the problem of the Animals? That he would help us?"

Elphaba forced a smile, assuring him. "Of course! That's why we have a Wizard, to solve the problems of Oz!"

Dr. Dillamond nodded, but then a grey cloud passed over his eyes once more.

"But how are we going to get an audience with him? The wait is months long; so many could be affected by then!"

Elphaba sat down on a desk in the front row, her face full of hope that the professor could not help but feel was misplaced.

"But I'm going to meet the Wizard next semester! That's only a month and a half from now!"

His eye brows rose, dubious but hopeful.

"You would… tell the Wizard? About the problem with the Animals?"

Elphaba nodded vigorously.

"If something bad is happening to the Animals, we have to tell the Wizard. He'll know what to do."

Dr. Dillamond gave Elphaba a weak smile.

"I hope you're right."

Sitting back down, Elphaba went through her things, searching for her lunch.

"It can't be all that bad, Dr. Dillamond. It could be just rumors, you know."

Elphaba pulled a brown bag from her things and plucked her sandwich from the sack.

"You're probably right," he said, sitting down next to her. "It can't be that baa-aad."

He covered his mouth with his hands, eyes wide with terror.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Nothing _bad_."

Elphaba kept unwrapping her sandwich, looking a bit more worried.

"Would you like to share my lunch?"

He shook his head, but then took the offering and tore off the paper wrapping, chewed slowly, and handing the actual sandwich back to Elphaba.

"You such a wonderful student, Elphaba. And a wonderful person, too. Don't you ever let someone tell you otherwise just because of the way you look."

Elphaba gave him a warm smile and chewed on her sandwich.

As they dug into the remaining food (and containers), they noticed that someone was walking down the quiet hallway, healed shoes clipping the flooring harshly. The door knob jostled a moment later and Madame Morrible's head entered, followed gradually by the massive remainder of her.

"Oh, my, my, my," she said, tapping her cigarette holder on her knee. She surveyed the board with a look of disdain.

"It will take a good while to clean this up, I'm afraid." She turned to Elphaba and Dr. Dillamond who just stared at her, at a loss.

"I heard from the students that there had been a disturbance. Is everything alright, now?"

Dr. Dillamond nodded slowly.

"It's terrible, Madame Morrible," Elphaba said, discarding her food. "The students responsible should be punished!"

Madame Morrible regarded Elphaba with that coy smile she often used on the less talented girls in the magical seminar when they asked a stupid question. Elphaba found that she liked that look much less when directed at her.

"We certainly won't be able to find out who did it very easily, Miss Elphaba. We can't go chasing every student who writes on the chalk boards!" Madame Morrible turned to Dr. Dillamond. "It should be clean by the end of the week, Professor."

Then she left, without so much as another word.

Elphaba was dumbfounded.

"But, doesn't she realize… doesn't she see?"

Dr. Dillamond put down the peeling cardboard he'd been munching on and shook his head.

"It really is that baa-aad--"

Elphaba's eye betrayed her anguish upon hearing that sound and Dr. Dillamond rose quickly, knowing he had let her hear and see too much.

"I have to go now, Elphaba. You enjoy your lunch."

"But, Professor!"

He gathered up his things and ignored Elphaba, though it pained him to do it. He felt he was doing what was best.

Left alone in the empty room, Elphaba made a vow. To Dr. Dillamond, to herself. She would tell the Wizard and help the Animals.

Even if she had to do it all herself. 


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: If I Only Had a Date

The ceilings in the Shiz dorm rooms were nothing remarkable, nothing interesting. The simple tiles—exactly forty over any given bed—were a pale, creamy color, and only a bit larger than an outstretched hand.

A least, that's how it appeared to Fiyero when he held his hand above his face and squinted at the ceiling.

Examining the tiles, unfortunately, was not enough to distract Fiyero from the woman that had managed to consume his thoughts completely. She was rough, opinionated, and intelligent, the opposite of Fiyero himself. Not to say that Fiyero was weak minded; he simply chose not to utilize his knowledge.

Elphaba, now there was a different story all together. She seemed to love using her well-rounded mind whenever possible, as Fiyero had observed. He was in half of Elphaba's classes.

Much as he saw of her, though, he hadn't managed to find out much about her other than she seemed know _everything_. Or, at least, he didn't hear anything he actually believed was true.

Even when he tried to speak to Elphaba directly, she dismissed him as though he didn't even exist. Trying to ask Galinda anything about her wasn't getting him anywhere either; she'd act even more flighty than usual and change the subject or pout until he just gave up on ever getting to know the girl beneath the green surface.

Ironically, though she helped him none in his quest to learn more about Elphaba, Galinda became Fiyero's saving grace. As superficial as she most certainly was—it wasn't an act, as Fiyero had thought at first—she was as obsessed with doing well in her classes as she was with her hair. He probably wouldn't have even passed the first of his tests had it not been for her tutelage and constant need to tell him that attractive would only get him so far. Besides, _stupid_ people were just not popular! So said Galinda, and you simply did not argue with a woman who was crazy enough to wear that much pink.

In truth, Galinda was perfect for him; they were perfect for each other. Modesty aside, they were both beautiful, charismatic, young people that just seemed to be destined for one another. Never had Fiyero met a girl better suited to him.

And yet…

He just couldn't stop thinking about someone else. He had promised Galinda that they would go to the Ozdust, though, and they would, in spite of his wandering eye. He wasn't without morals, after all. He didn't want to hurt Galinda. He predicted they would end up dating after the dance, too, whether he wanted to or not. But that suited him just fine.

"Let her do what she wants," he thought out loud. "It's easier to let her do the thinking for both of us."

A smirk spread across Fiyero's face at the thought of letting her do many things for the both of them, but his thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Who is it," he said, disappointed at being intruded upon. He didn't have much time to stay irritated, though, as Galinda bounded into the room, a triumphant smile on her face and some sort of garmet dangling from her hand.

"_Look what I've got!_" she said in a sing-song voice. She waved something painfully pink in front of his eyes.

"It's uh…"

Galinda pulled it back to her and smiled at it dreamily as though it were a puppy.

"I know! Isn't it _beautiful?_"

She held it up once more and Fiyero was finally able to make out a shape within all of the ruffles and tulle. It was a dress, more specifically, a ball gown. And it was completely-- every stitch, ever inch of fabric--pink. Bright pink. Pinker than a blush across Galinda's white cheeks.

"Yeah, beautiful," Fiyero said sarcastically as he slid off the bed. Galinda looked up at him, dress held tight against her breast, tears welling as though on command.

"Don't you… don't you _like_ it, Fiyero, honey?"

It was honey now?

"Yeah, sweetie, it's great."

He called me sweetie! Galinda said in her mind. She squeaked and pressed herself against Fiyero.

"Oh, this is going to be wonderful!"

Fiyero laughed, laying a hand on Galinda's head. He'd only known her for a week and she was already pouncing on him like this whenever she caught sight of him. He couldn't say he didn't like it, but it was a little odd.

"Galinda," Fiyero said with a laugh. She responded by burrowing further into the crook of his arm. "Galinda," he repeated, lifting her away from him. She looked up, confused.

"What am I going to wear?"

A look of panic streaked across her face.

"Oh, goodness, I forgot! The shoes I ordered you should have gotten here by now!"

He should have been surprised at that, but he wasn't.

"Well, you'd better go and check your dorm! It could already be there and you can show them to me!"

"Oh, but I have to get your suit from the dry cleaners, too!"

Fiyero gave her a smile and she melted.

"That's okay, Glin. I'll just meet you downstairs around six and you can give it to me then."

Galinda's smile faded.

"You _must_ be joking. Six? I need at least three hours to get ready! You'll just have to drop by and get it, okay?"

Fiyero's eyebrows went up but he nodded, swallowing the urge to laugh. Thankfully, Galinda had turned around and was heading back for the door, dress in hand.

"Oh, and Fiyero?" she said lightly, not turning around but slowing to a stop.

"Yes, Galinda?"

"Don't call me Glin. That Dr. Dillamond calls me 'Glinda' and it drives me crazy." She turned around to him, a look of perfect insult on her pretty face. "I mean, how hard is it? Galinda with a 'Guh'! I've told him a million times, but he just doesn't seem to get the 'Guh' part."

Fiyero nodded, barely able to control himself. As soon as she had turned around, he let his laughter out against his hand.

"See you tonight, sweetie!"

"Tonight, GUH-linda."

She gave him a twinkling smile from over her shoulder and left.

After a few minutes of laughing until his side hurt, Fiyero left too.

------

Galinda walked briskly, swinging the arm that held her dress and smiling so brightly it made people take notice, even more so than usual. She was on top of Oz and nothing was going to bring her down.

She entered the dorms, skipped to her room, and twisted the door handle, unable to stifle the persistent grin on her face.

Until she saw her.

"Oh, hello Elphaba," she said curtly, passing by the girl in a huff. Though it had taken her a few days, she had realized what had happened in the history class and was none too pleased with her roommate.

But this makes things _so_ much easier, Glinda assured herself with a wicked little grin. Now, she wouldn't feel the least bit guilty in allowing Elphaba to make a fool of herself at the party.

Galinda laid her dress out on the bed, watching it like one watches a loved one as they sleep. She sighed, thinking about how lovely she would look in it.

Elphaba, on the other hand, was filled with dread.

"Galinda," she said, her voice so filled with fragility that it sent a shiver down Galinda's spine, "I was wondering… do you think that it would be… I don't know, _odd_, if I went to the party… alone?"

Icing on the cake, Galinda thought, stomping out a smile. Icing on a pink, frosted cake.

"Elphaba, I'm sure that there will be _plenty_ of people there without dates!" she lied. "You won't be the only one."

Galinda gave Elphaba one of her signature "trust me" smiles and sat down next to her dress.

A look of relief passed over Elphaba's face and Galinda felt a twinge in her belly. She ignored it.

"You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that," Elphaba said, going to her closet. Galinda looked over at her inquisitively.

"I bought these new shoes, too, to go with the hat you gave me, and I was so worried that I wouldn't even be able to wear them, if I didn't have a date and I couldn't go…"

Amidst her rambling, Elphaba produced from her wardrobe a black-blue dress and a pair of black boots that were very pointy indeed, then walked swiftly to her nightstand, where the hat was still sitting. She laid these three things out on her bed and turned to Galinda, beaming proudly but still waiting anxiously for her approval.

Galinda looked into Elphaba's eyes and the twinge moved upward, closer to her chest. She swallowed, seeing the look of hope, fear, and excitement brimming over the surface, and her heart gave a leap. What was she _doing_?

"Elphaba…" she started to say, thinking of how very mean she was being. But she couldn't continue.

The green girl nodded, urging Galinda to say it. But what was it? What was she going to say? Galinda looked down at the fashion travesty and found herself, for the first time, completely at a loss for words.

Then, though, images leapt to her mind, memories of harsh words, sarcastic comments, broken bottles on the bathroom floor…

"It'll look great, Elphaba!"

She said it quickly so she would have no chance to retract her statement. She immediately bit down on her bottom lip to impede herself from saying anything further.

Elphaba's face seemed to erupt with light and Galinda had to turn away before she lost herself completely.

"Thanks, Galinda," she said, her voice light with a happiness Galinda had never heard from Elphaba. She turned slightly and glimpsed the girl touching the dress, the shoes, especially the hat. She caressed it almost reverently.

Suddenly, Elphaba turned from her bed, her hands awkwardly held at her pelvis. She looked as though she wanted to say something.

"What… what is it, Elphaba?"

Elphaba looked into Galinda's sparkling blue eyes and she could say nothing. She couldn't think of the words that, just a second ago, had been evolving into sentences, confessions in her head. Galinda, too, was captivated in her roommate's gaze, unable to look away or think straight.

But then images came to Elphaba's mind, of pointed fingers, laughing faces, and Fiyero…

"I… just wanted to say thanks, that's all."

Galinda's face wilted and she rose from the bed.

"Well, I'm off to get Fiyero's suit," she said, pushing down the little voices in her head, screaming for her to change her mind. But she didn't say anything more.

As soon as she was out the door, both girl's stopped for a moment, bit their lips and said,

"Damn." 


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: A Heart Cannot Speak

The Ozdust ballroom was the biggest, brightest, most swankified place in town. Everyone who was anyone (or knew someone who was anyone) knew that the best parties in Oz were held there. Though mostly an exclusive place (home to parties for the rich and privileged), once a year the sparkling glass doors were opened to the public for the "Ozdust Fall Ball". You had to request an invitation, but no one was turned down, as long as the maximum occupancy wasn't exceeded. And even then, you could sneak in somehow, with a fake invite or a few pieces of gold.

In other words, everyone who was someone, somebody, or even just an _anybody_, went to the Fall Ball.

Even if they didn't think they belonged there at all.

The Ozdust was intimidating from the outside, especially when one already felt their confidence waning even before they had seen the immense dome, sparkling with the light of a thousand torches from the carriages pulling up to the front doors. The glimmering dome seemed to reach all the way to the sky, touching the moon as though trying to eclipse it.

Elphaba swallowed, watching with envy as the people entered through the double doors. It looked like a snow globe, from her vantage point several hundred feet away, full of people instead of snow. And Elphaba knew that it would be shaken up a thousand times before the night was through, mixing up the party goers, tossing out some and bringing others closer together.

With that thought—and hope—tucked discreetly where no one would ever find it, Elphaba tugged her hat down on her head and walked purposefully towards the door.

------

Galinda laughed heartily, her chest bouncing in her dress. She knew it was a bit revealing, but it had been too beautiful for her to pass up! Besides, she thought, Fiyero seems to like it.

It was true, Fiyero had been looking at no one but here since the moment he had arrived at the girl's dorm, dressed in the white suit Galinda had purchased for him. The pink, striped shirt he wore somehow looked good on him and the two of them looked perfect together.

"So, when's she showing up, Galinda?"

Galinda turned to a girl whom she didn't know, looking rather confused.

"Excuse me? When is _who_ showing up?"

I'm already here, thought Galinda, so who in the world could she be worried about?

"The green loser," the girl said, tossing aside her auburn curls. "I heard about what you did and I think it'll be hilarious."

Galinda's eyes went wide. She'd only told one girl about the hat; how could this girl know?

"Oh, everyone knows, Galinda," the girl said, seeing Galinda's surprise. "And we all think it's brilliant. Maybe she'll finally take the hint and leave Shiz."

Galinda swallowed, not knowing how to respond. If everyone knew, she couldn't imagine how Elphaba would react when she came in. What if everyone stared at her? What if everyone laughed?

Galinda dismissed her worries with a toss of her golden curls. She didn't owe that girl anything! It was just a harmless joke, after all. Nothing that would really hurt her in the end. Elphaba had probably endured far worse.

Somehow, that thought was not at all as comforting as Galinda had hoped it would be.

"Miss Galinda, Miss Galinda!"

Galinda spun around, the bottom of her dress twirling up. She was expecting Fiyero to be back from talking with his new friends, but when she say the person who had spoken, her face immediately showed her surprise.

"Madame Morrible! What are you doing here?"

Madame Morrible, dressed in what had to be the biggest, puffiest dress Galinda had ever seen, made her way through the crowd of young people to stand before Galinda. Between two fingers on her left hand, she held her cigarette holder, as usual, but she had something else, too, in her right hand.

"I've come to give you this," she said, handing Galinda the something else. "Well, I'll be going now."

"Madame Morrible, wait!"

She didn't even know what it was she had given her. She looked down in her hands to see a long, thin handle, sparkling silver, with a head like looked like a giant snowflake. It looked like a very thin staff.

"Yes?" Madame Morrible said, looking desperate to leave.

Galinda put the staff in her right hand, examining it.

"What is this?"

"It's for the advanced magic class next semester," she said dismissively. "You need a wand to be in the class and this one is yours."

"But, Madame Morrible, I'm not even in the magic seminar!"

The headmistress turned back to her and threw up her hands in exasperation.

"Well, one would figurate this to mean that you are now!"

Galinda looked down at the wand, amazed. But then she frowned. Pleased as she was, Galinda didn't understand.

"But how--"

"Miss Galinda, I do not--nor have I ever—thought you should be in this class, but Miss Elphaba demanded it!"

Galinda's eyes widened in shock.

"Yes, she said she wouldn't do the class without you. Something about wanting to repay you," she shook her head, "I don't know!"

Galinda looked downward, feeling faint. Had Elphaba really thought so much of that hat that she would do something like this for Galinda? Madame Morrible turned to leave again.

"I don't think you'll do well, but let's hope you prove me wrong."

But then she turned back as though remembering something.

"I doubt you will."

Galinda opened her mouth to say something, but another mouth swooped in and took away her words.

"Mmph… Fiyero?"

She opened her eyes to see her future husband, swaying his hips against her to the beat she hadn't even noticed was still going.

"Hey, what did Madame Morrible want?"

Galinda motioned for one of her friends, keeping the wand behind her back.

"Oh, nothing," she said, handing it off to her friend. She whispered in her ear to take it to the carriage. Fiyero laughed.

"And what was that about?"

Galinda, returning to her normal self on the surface, smiled and told him that it was nothing.

"Alright then. Care for a dance?"

Galinda smiled, eager for the chance to push all other thoughts from her mind, and allowed Fiyero to lead her onto the dance floor.

------

As she neared the entrance, she realized how very late she must have been. There had to be at least three hundred people there already, maybe more. Elphaba could feel the pulsating rhythm of the music, the dancing. She wasn't even inside and she thought that she might actually have a good time.

Elphaba pushed down the brim of her hat to hide her face and joined the people flooding the entrance, paradoxically hoping she wouldn't see anyone she knew while wishing she could find one person in particular.

As she handed one of the flustered-looking attendants her invite, she heard someone calling her name.

"Elphaba! Elphaba!"

She spun and a smile burst across her face.

"Nessa…"

She rushed over to her, arms wide, her high heels clicking loudly on the marble floor though the sound was still drowned out by the crowd.

She reached down and embraced Nessa around the waist. When she pulled back, Elphaba kneeled on the floor, despite the strange looks she got for doing so in her dress.

"Have you seen Galinda?"

Elphaba looked up at the voice and saw the Munchkin boy, Boq. He came, thought Elphaba, a smile touching her lips in spite of herself. She would have to thank Galinda for that.

"No, I haven't," she said, suddenly wondering why he would be inquiring about Galinda. She turned back to Nessa and Boq excused himself to get some punch.

"Oh, Elphaba, this is wonderful! Boq and I are so perfect together!"

Elphaba gave her sister a weak smile.

"Don't look at me like that, Elphaba. Galinda did a very nice thing for me and I think Boq is just perfect, so don't you--"

"Nessa, I understand."

Nessa looked up, stuttering, having prepared for a fight.

"What?"

"I understand," Elphaba repeated. "I won't say anything about Galinda again."

Nessa gave her sister the happiest smile Elphaba had ever seen on her normally melancholy face. She was beginning to think that all of her struggling had not in been in vain.

"Thank you, Elphaba," Nessa said, pleasantly surprised. "Will you thank Galinda for me?"

Elphaba took a deep breath as she stood, scanning the many faces around her, looking for Galinda so she could do as she had already anticipated her sister would ask. As she was looking for Galinda, she noticed something odd. Everyone…was looking at her…

Elphaba strode towards the center of the room and the eyes followed her. The entire place seemed to die in one moment, leaving Elphaba feeling terribly alone in the sudden silence. Had they been staring since she went in? Or had they only just noticed her, now that the bright spot lights were on her?

People cleared from her path, backing away. Some of them were people she knew, students from school. Many were people she didn't know, their eyes fixed on her green skin.

But that wasn't the only reason they were staring, she noticed. They were looking at her head, pointing and giggling behind their hands. The girls, especially, seemed to think there was something terribly funny about her.

Instinctively, Elphaba reached up and touched her hat. The subsequent laughter made Elphaba tear it off, looking at it as though it had suddenly turned into a black snake. When she looked back up, her eyes caught sight of the someone she had been hoping to find when she first came in. Her watery green eyes met with the sparkling blue ones and Elphaba could not fight the tears that were ready to spill down her cheeks.

She shook her head at Galinda and turned to leave.

Galinda looked all around her, at Fiyero, at her friends, and the pain of what she had done tore through her just as the laughter began to spill forth. Elphaba quickened her step and Galinda knew she hadn't much time to think.

"ELPHABA WAIT!"

The dress floated around Elphaba's calves as she came to an abrupt halt. The hat in her hand quivered, a shudder visibly wracking her body. She turned slowly, menacingly, her head held low.

When Galinda saw the look in Elphaba's eyes, she thought she felt her heart tear in two.

"What's wrong with her?" Fiyero asked, his voice thick concern. "She looks so upset."

Looking around him, Fiyero realized the source of Elphaba's anger.

"Why are they all staring at her?"

Fiyero looked at her himself and saw nothing odd. She was wearing a dress that did not fit her properly and high-heeled boots that looked rather strange when combined with the short-hemmed dress, but she didn't look so out of place with the girls around her, in their dresses of the latest fashions. She didn't look very strange at all, to him.

He turned to Galinda and noticed that she, too, was staring at her. But there was something very different in the way she was looking. She wasn't staring, she was watching, gazing at Elphaba as though the green girl held her in a trance.

Galinda swallowed, her eyes never parting from Elphaba's. The dark green of Elphaba's lower lip fluttered into one word.

Why.

Elphaba turned back around and raced towards the door.

Galinda felt the tears rising relentlessly and she fought them back, running across the ballroom floor.

"Hey, wait, Galinda! What's going on?" Fiyero didn't follow her across the dance floor, but he watched her intently. What was she doing?

"Elphaba, don't go! Elph… Elphaba!"

Galinda's reached out and all but dove to grab hold of Elphaba's arm. She pulled her, but Elphaba wrenched her arm away and turned on her sharply, a dangerous glare replacing the look of unspeakable sadness in her now blazing green eyes.

"What, you want to laugh right at my face? Doesn't seem like your style, Galinda."

Galinda winced but Elphaba didn't relent.

"I should have known you would do this," she said, and then louder, "I should have expected you were this desperate for people to like you, that you would do something like this, that you would pretend to care about me. Well take a good look!" Elphaba turned in a slow circle, staring down anyone who dared look her in the eye. "Have a good laugh! Because this is last you'll see of me!"

Elphaba turned back to Galinda, took a deep breath, and threw the hat at her.

"I'm through pretending to be someone I'm not."

Galinda's lower lip shuddered as her fingers clutched the brim of the hat. She looked down at it, then back up at Elphaba, who was steadily making her way through the dividing crowd. A high-pitched sound escaped her, so meek and desperate that Elphaba had to fight the urge to turn back around, grab her and—

"I care about you, Elphaba. More than I care to admit."

Elphaba stopped in her tracks. Galinda took a step forward, the empty silence of the room magnifying the sound. She took another step and waited to see if Elphaba would run, but she appeared rooted to the spot.

"I'm so sorry, Elphaba," she said gently, taking several, careful steps. She could see that Elphaba was shaking. "Please believe me." She took several quick steps and was just behind Elphaba. Her roommate did not turn to her.

Galinda's fingers neared Elphaba slowly and gently encircled Elphaba's arm. She didn't resist. Elphaba shuddered, a single tear breaking onto her cheek.

"But why…?" she asked.

Galinda turned Elphaba towards her and Fiyero, too far away to hear what was being said, watched in wonder. The way Elphaba's eyes glittered, it was amazing. Even in sadness she looked so beautiful.

Galinda, unaware that her boyfriend was staring, unaware that anyone at all was watching, stepped forward and put her arms around Elphaba. There was total silence.

"I was… afraid…"

Galinda swallowed, feeling Elphaba become stiff in her arms. What would she tell her? What _could_ she tell her? She thought about her friends, about her family. She couldn't tell her the truth, even if she wanted to. She had Fiyero and she had her 'friends'. She couldn't afford to let those things go.

But she could stop pretending she hated Elphaba. That much, she could do.

"I was afraid of you, Elphaba. But I know that's silly and… and…"

She squeezed Elphaba once more, trying to imprint upon her memory the feeling of the girl in her arms, knowing she might never feel it again.

She backed away, reluctantly letting Elphaba slip from her, and put out her hand.

"And now I want us to be friends."

Elphaba couldn't believe her ears. Was Galinda serious? Or was she just about to add on to the embarrassment by pulling her hand away if Elphaba tried to take it?

Realizing the chance she was being give, she didn't give Galinda that option.

Elphaba pushed Galinda's hand aside, took one strong, smooth step, and put her arms around her, holding tightly, knowing in her heart that it could be her only chance to ever hold the girl.

Let her push me away, Elphaba thought, and I'll know. I'll know she can never care about me… the way I….

But Elphaba noticed that Galinda hadn't moved. Despite the gasps of shock from the people around them, she didn't so much as brush away the curls Elphaba's embrace had thrown into her eyes. Elphaba felt Galinda shiver and she backed away slowly, her hands still on Galinda's shoulders.

"I… I…"

Elphaba wanted to say it, she wanted to! She wanted Galinda to know. She wanted to tell her that she was the first person Elphaba had found interesting, the first person to make her feel like she wasn't alone. The first person she had ever... cared for...

Galinda was watching Elphaba, waiting patiently for her to say something that would make it easier. She would have done anything to have Elphaba be brave, to force her to tell the truth, but she didn't say anything. She seemed to be looking over Galinda's shoulder.

Elphaba swallowed, seeing the man Galinda's heart belonged to and she smiled, a tragically beautiful smile.

"I'd like to be… friends… too, Galinda."

Galinda smiled through the tears spilling over onto her cheeks, sparkling like diamonds as she threw her arms around Elphaba.

"Oh, Elphie," Galinda whispered into Elphaba's hair. "We're going to be the best of friends."

Elphaba swallowed her emotions, watching the crowd begin to mingle again, the many eyes finally pulling away from the two of them, and held Galinda with all she had.

"The best of friends," she said, pushing down the storm she had only just started within her heart. 


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: A Spoonful of Popular

"Elphie, now that we're friends, I've decided to make you my new project."

Elphaba smiled at the impromptu nickname she had been given, but cringed at the implication of Galinda's words.

"You really don't have to do that."

Galinda bounced off of her bed and pranced over to her closet, bent over to rummage through her things.

"I know," Elphaba heard her say. "That's what makes me so nice."

When she stood back up, Galinda had something very pink in her hands that Elphaba rightly feared was intended for her. Galinda plopped down beside Elphaba and grinned.

"You're gonna be popular, Elphaba, if it's the last thing I do."

Galinda pressed the pink dress against her friend, who held it awkwardly with one hand. The pale pink looked rather attractive against Elphaba's green skin, Galinda thought. She gave Elphaba a coy grin. Elphaba, however, did not appear convinced.

"I don't know about this, Galinda…"

"Oh, Elphie, don't worry," Galinda said, not noticing the flush of pink in Elphaba's cheeks when Galinda set her hand over Elphaba's. "I know about popular, Elphaba. And as smart as you are, you won't get anywhere without being at least a little bit popular."

Elphaba sighed. Galinda certainly took this whole "popular" business seriously.

"I know that you think you can help, but Galinda, look at me!"

Elphaba ran her hands up and down her body, pointing to her skin, her long nose, her hair. Galinda pursed her lips.

"So? I didn't say you have to be as popular as me, just a little popular." Galinda said.

Elphaba's head dropped. She couldn't think of anything else to stall Galinda.

"You're the toughest case I've yet to face, Elphie, but don't worry. I'm _determined _to succeed. You're gonna be popular."

Elphaba ran a nervous hand through her hair.

"Look, maybe we just need to start small, okay?"

Elphaba nodded vigorously.

"Small, yes, please."

Galinda stood up, placed one small finger to the side of her face and tapped her one foot, looking around the room as though for inspiration. She spotted something and let out a squeal.

"I know," she exlaimed with delight, running over to her bureau. "We'll start with you hair." Galinda returned with something pink in her hands. At least it's small, Elphaba consoled herself.

"You already have very pretty hair," Galinda pulled off the hat Elphaba wore to hide her hair and stroked the thick locks with her fingers. Elphaba's scalp tingled with her touch and she went stiff, trying not to react to the gentle touch as Galinda pinned the pink thing into her hair.

"Beautiful," Galinda beamed and fluffed out Elphaba's hair. Elphaba's face flushed.

"You just need a little refinement!" Galinda said, taking a seat once more. She reached up and fussed over the hair pin, adjusting it until it was just above Elphaba's ear. Her hand lazily wandered down the side of Elphaba's face, through her hair, and down to Galinda's own lap. Elphaba nearly reached up and touched the burning spot where Galinda hand graced her cheek, but her hand, by some mysterious mercy, stayed one her thigh.

"I think we'll start with the hair toss," Galinda said, rising from the bed. "Now, do as I do."

Elphaba watched Galinda carefully and knew from the moment Galinda began that she was going to have trouble with this first lesson.

Galinda spread her legs until they were shoulder length apart. She bounced on the balls of her feet a few times before settling down like a line backer, her shoulders squared, her expression one of concentration. She stared out, facing the door, and then leaned forward, her head hanging loosely from her neck. She shook her hands, shook her head, shook everything, and then stopped, holding her hands out wide.

Galinda threw her head back and tossed her hair to the side, left, then right, saying, "Toss, toss!" as she did so. Elphaba had to hold back her laughter.

"Okay now you try."

Elphaba threw her hair back unceremoniously.

"Come _on_ Elphie, please?" Galinda sounded so exasperated, her face looked so hopeful, that Elphaba stood up and made a good show of shaking herself silly before throwing her hair back. Most of her hair got into her face, though, and Galinda got a nice laugh out of watching her spit out the dark strands.

"Very funny," Elphaba said, though she found herself laughing with her. "It was pretty funny, I guess," Elphaba conceded.

"Yes, it was." Galinda looked as though she were about to burst with laughter.

"What?" Elphaba asked, looking confused.

Galinda pointed up and Elphaba's hand slowly snaked up to find the flower pin, holding her hair in a bundle atop her head. Galinda let loose her laughter and Elphaba tore the flower out of her hair and threw it at Galinda.

"Ha, ha, ha, yeah, keep laughing."

But her expression displayed anything but offense, so Galinda continued to laugh.

"Oh, you think that was funny, do you? You're laughing at me?"

Galinda, choking on silent laughter, nodded.

"Well then laugh at this!"

Elphaba pounced on Galinda, knocking her back onto her bed. The small girl squealed as Elphaba's fingers ran over her stomach, wiggling and tickling her. Galinda writhed beneath Elphaba, trying to escape, but she only succeeded in helping Elphaba to pull her shirt up, exposing the soft flesh of her belly.

Elphaba was about to go in for the kill when Galinda's voice pleaded for her to stop.

"You wouldn't, Elphie, would you?"

A flash in Elphaba's eyes made Galinda gasp.

"You _would_!"

Elphaba lunged, her fingers dancing over Galinda's twisting body. Galinda gasped and bucked, trying to free herself, but Elphaba's strong thighs were on either side of her, pinning her to the spot. It felt oddly good, the way Elphaba held her down. But the tickling feeling stopped Galinda from thinking about it too long.

Elphaba tortured her, laughing in almost cruel delight as tears sprung to Galinda's eyes. So loud was their laughter that they did not hear the door open.

"Hey, you should be careful. A jealous boyfriend might take this the wrong way."

Galinda sat up, almost throwing Elphaba off of her lap.

"Fiyero!"

The lean young man laughed a deep, throaty laugh that resonated with both the girls for different reasons. He pushed his hands down into his pockets and shrugged.

"Yeah, just me, your almost-jealous boyfriend," he said with a smile. "I don't think you've ever made sounds like that for me, Glin."

Galinda shot Elphaba a guilty look, the thoughts running through her head too much for her to sort into words. She and Elphaba had just been playing, hadn't they? Having fun as friends? Of course we were, Galinda said to herself, ignoring any thoughts to the contrary.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Galinda said, standing up. She brushed her skirt down. "And don't call me 'Glin'." She strode over to Fiyero and put a hasty arm around his waist. Neither Galinda nor Fiyero noticed the hurt look on Elphaba's face, as she was turned away from them both, kneeling on the floor next to the bed.

"If you keep romping around with pretty girls, I'm going to start to wonder about you," Fiyero teased, bringing Galinda close to him for a long kiss. Galinda pulled away with a surprised look in her eyes.

It didn't even come close to rivaling the look in Elphaba's. It made Galinda worry she would burn a hole through Fiyero.

"Hey, what's with you two?" Fiyero asked, seeing the electric exchange of glances. There was definitely something going on there that he couldn't place. "Did you two have a fight again? I swear, you're like a married couple sometimes."

Elphaba stood up and brushed herself off, looking rather angry but saying otherwise.

"We weren't fighting, Fiyero," she said. "And you should mind your own…. Wait, did you just call me pretty?"

Fiyero threw his head back and laughed. Watching him guffaw, the muscular line of his neck and jaw extended almost artfully, Elphaba understood why Galinda found him so interesting. He was, if nothing else, very pretty himself. Fiyero turned to the girl in his arms.

"I thought you said she was brilliant, honey. She seems a bit slow to me."

After a month of being together, Fiyero had taken to calling Galinda by the little pet names she adored. He enjoyed the little grin or blush he got out of her every time he used one. This time, though, she was blushing for reasons that Fiyero couldn't have known.

"Of course you're pretty," Galinda said, her face bright pink. Elphaba felt a glow coming into her face, too. "She's pretty, right honey?" Galinda said, turning back to Fiyero when looking at Elphaba became too much for her.

Elphaba eyed Galinda suspiciously. She had been friends with Galinda for several weeks, since the happenings at the Ozdust, and every day her behavior got a little stranger. Especially when she was around Fiyero, or, at least, whenever she and Elphaba were around Fiyero. She was so unsure of herself, looking to Fiyero for answers all the time. When they were alone together, Galinda was more confident, not afraid to say what she was on her mind.

When we're along together, thought Elphaba, the words echoing pleasantly in her mind. It was nice to have memories of such times.

But looking at Fiyero, holding Galinda tightly around the waist, made her painfully aware of what specific memories she would never have of she and Galinda...alone or otherwise.

"Well, we'd better be going; everyone's waiting for us."

Galinda shot Elphaba a confused look. Did she not want to go?

Just say it, Galinda, Elphaba willed. Say that you want to stay with me.

"Of course, Fiyero, sweet heart. Don't want to leave the others waiting."

Fiyero smiled and pushed his nose against Galinda's cheek. Elphaba felt her temperature rise.

"You should come with us, Elphaba," Fiyero said, rocking Galinda against his hip.

Galinda turned to Elphaba, a desperate look on her face, her delicate features making her look forlorn.

Elphaba started to say yes, but then Fiyero kissed Galinda's cheek and an all too familiar pain shot through her.

"No, you two go," she said meekly. "I have studying to do."

"But it's the end of the semester," Fiyero said with his signature 'just-go-with-the-flow' laugh. "You know, break time? I mean, we all go home in a week; why not have some fun before you go home for the month?"

Elphaba looked back to Galinda, who looked absolutely pained. They hadn't discussed their plans for the winter break. Their eyes locked for a brief moment and Elphaba nodded. She could not say 'no' to that face.

"Great!" Fiyero said, finally letting Galinda go. "We'll go down and tell Boq and the others to wait."

Fiyero turned to go, but Galinda stayed.

"Aren't you coming, pumpkin?"

Galinda's skin rippled at the name, but not in the way she had hoped before, when Fiyero wouldn't sat it at all.

"I'll be right down," she said. "I have to fix my hair."

It didn't look like her hair needed fixing, but Fiyero knew better than to question his girlfriend on matters of beauty.

"Alright," he said, leaning in for a quick peck on the cheek. "See you in a minute, then."

Fiyero opened the door and was gone.

"Elphaba, you don't have to come if you don't want to," Galinda said the second she was sure the door was closed. She rushed over to Elphaba, putting her hand on her friend's arm, and was reminded immediately of the Ozdust. She couldn't help but feel the same pang of guilt as she had that night, but she didn't know why. What did she have to feel guilty for?

You know, Galinda, a little voice said, but Galinda shut the door on it.

"No, I'll come," she heard Elphaba say. Why did her voice sound so odd? "Just go downstairs and tell Fiyero I'll be down in a second."

Galinda backed away, letting Elphaba's arm fall. She took a slow breath. She just wanted Elphaba to look at her, but she didn't turn. She wanted to tell Elphaba she was sorry, but Galinda didn't know what for, so she remained speechless.

"I'll wait for you," Galinda said finally. She waited, hoping Elphaba would say something, but then she saw Elphaba nod and took it as her cue to go.

"We'll be downstairs."

She reluctantly made her way to the door. When she opened it, though, she found herself unable to let go of the doorknob. She pulled herself back through the hallway, silently placing her fingers on the inside edge of the door. She saw Elphaba, slumped on her bed, head in her hands.

"Oh, Elphie," she said softly to herself. "I just… don't know what to do."

Galinda was shocked by her own words. She covered her mouth and covered up the feeling she had just made real, pushing them down as far as she could under the feelings she had created for Fiyero. Galinda shut the door quickly and ran to the stairs.

Elphaba looked up at the sound of the door closing, but did not move. Probably the wind, she thought. She didn't let herself think about where a breeze could have come from in a hall way with no windows.

With her head in her hands, Elphaba tried to piece her thoughts together into a coherent strand. She had hated Galinda, hated her! But when had that changed? It wasn't because of their friendship; she knew she would have felt this way even if they had remained mortal enemies. Had it been when she gave her the hat? Or maybe before that, maybe it had been the sparks between them that had unintentionally started another fire.

Elphaba was interrupted in her sad thoughts by the sensation of something falling on her head. When she looked up, she just shook her head and let it continue.

Great, she thought, now I'm unintentionally starting storms. The little cloud over her head hovered, tiny droplets hitting Elphaba now and then. In an attempt to be rid of it, Elphaba stood up and went over to the window, but the cloud followed her. What she saw out the window, however, made the cloud change immediately.

Galinda and Fiyero were wrapped about each other, kissing passionately against the wall next to the front doors. None of the group they were going out with that night looked as if they were bothered by it in the slightest.

Elphaba felt the raindrops multiply, pelting her, quickly followed by a small jolt that didn't make her jump; it only made her angrier.

Elphaba threw her hand up in the air, ready to send the storm out and over her roommate and the sandy-haired boy, but something held her back. Galinda, pinned against the wall, pulled away. Was that… was that a smile on her face?

Elphaba didn't have the time to make sure. Galinda resumed kissing Fiyero and Elphaba slinked away from the window, her growing cloud shrinking back down to a tiny rain puff.

She couldn't go out with them now. If not for other reasons, than because of the storm cloud over her head that she didn't know how to get rid of.

Elphaba stood back up, went over to the window, and shouted down that she had tripped and hurt herself and was going to go to the nurse's office.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Fiyero called up. Elphaba didn't notice the concern in his voice or the worry in Galinda's eyes.

"No, I'll be fine," Elphaba added onto her lies. Fiyero shrugged, looking at Galinda as though waiting for her to say something. When she remained silent, Fiyero took Galinda's hand and waved to the others to follow. As he pulled her away, Galinda's eyes went to the window of her dorm, where she knew in her heart Elphaba was curling into her bed, preparing to cry herself to sleep.

I hope you're happy with yourself, the little voice in Galinda's head squeaked. The guilt transformed into a physical pain that made Galinda stop in her tracks.

"Are you alright?" Fiyero asked, feeling her hesitate. "Hey, you know, you can go back and take care of Elphaba, if you want."

Galinda bit her lip. That was exactly what she wanted and the last thing she was going to do.

If she went to Elphaba, she knew what would happen. Everything she was working for, friends, fame, _Fiyero_, would fade away the moment she entered that dormatory.

And Galinda just could not let that happen.

"No, she'll be fine," Galinda said, knowing it was a lie and feeling the burn of her falsehood all along her throat, up to the tip of her tongue. Fiyero watched her for a moment, but said nothing, turning back to catch up with the group.

Galinda gave one final, longing look to the window where she hoped to see Elphaba before turning around, disappointed, to follow Fiyero.

Elphaba went back to the window just in time for the final strands of hope to unravel within her. She turned away from the window and stalked back to her bed, falling into it just as the tears began to well.

Her hands fell over her pillow and, just as a heavy sob was rising quickly in her throat, she felt a familiar something beneath the soft cushion. Elphaba reached underneath and pulled the green bottle out. It glistened, ironically beautiful.

This is the reason you are the way you are, a dark voice said in her mind. Elphaba gasped when she realized what the voice meant. This is why you're skin is green; this is why you are different.

This is why Galinda will never love you.

Elphaba sat up and, before she knew what she was doing, threw the vial across the room with all of her strength. Upon release, though, her eyes went wide with shock. Elphaba watched as the bottle collided with the far wall and shut her eyes, not wanting to see the treasure she had kept for seventeen years shatter against the pale paint.

But the sound that should have met her ears never came.

Elphaba opened her eyes, expecting to see the shattered pieces of the bottle scattered all over Galinda's pink coverlet, but there wasn't so much as a shard. The bottle hadn't broken.

Elphaba just stared at the unaltered vial. It was if it were mocking her, telling her that she could not escape it, her reality, her fate.

Elphaba looked down at her hands and realized that it was the truth. She would always be green. She would always be this way and there was nothing she could do to change it. With a sigh rich with sadness, Elphaba fell back on the bed.

She could never be the girl Galinda would want, no matter how much she changed, because, in the end, she could always be green. Ugly, green Elphaba. And Galinda would always be perfect, not-green Galinda.

Elphaba let her head fall to her pillow and cried.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: If I Stay or if I Go

Hard work can make us forget our woes, even if only for a little while, and Elphaba buried herself in work. It was the end of the semester anyway; she needed to study, or so she told herself every time Galinda and Fiyero showed up. In fact, she was hidden away, bent over her spell book in her room or a desk in the library so often that almost no one saw her at all within the last days of the semester. They saw her only in class, where her head never rose from the test in front of her. When she finished—and she always finished first—Elphaba got up and collected her things with the haste of someone who had better things to do.

Those "better things" were sitting against a tree on the outskirts of the campus, eating away at a growing pile of novels, or practicing her spells in any vacant space where students didn't congregate.

Anything to get her away from Galinda.

It wasn't easy, however, to keep her distance. Fiyero even seemed to be working against her, showing up at the dorm room looking for Galinda and then asking Elphaba if she wanted to go out for some lunch. The nerve of some people, Elphaba often thought when he was there, coming into a room unannounced and asking me out as though I were his girlfriend. The nerve!

Of course, Elphaba knew that Fiyero probably already knew where Galinda was. She knew Galinda was trying to see her again, talk to her, but Elphaba wasn't falling for it. Galinda was probably waiting in the lobby for them to come down and she would just "happen" to be passing by.

"No thanks, I already ate," she said, again and again. Fiyero would try to convince her, but that only served to make Elphaba angry and, at one point, she actually had to control herself from conjuring a wind to blow him out.

Fiyero would leave, eventually, looking hurt, and Elphaba tried not to think about how Galinda would feel, knowing that she was avoiding her.

"Why should she care?" Elphaba would ask herself. There was no reason for her to be upset. They weren't even that close.

But as the semester drew to a close, Elphaba began to realize that she could not avoid Galinda forever.

On the day before the break, Galinda was finishing packing her many bags and Elphaba had been out on a walk to avoid speaking to Galinda. However, Elphaba found herself walking back earlier than usual, before the time she knew Galinda would be asleep. She was about to go inside the dormitory, maybe make small talk in the hopes of resuming at least a cordial atmosphere, when she ran into Fiyero, who immediately approached her.

"Oh, hello Fiyero," she said wearily. She was not in the mood for him.

But, as he came near, Elphaba noticed something odd in his expression, something troubling. She honestly wanted to know what could have possibly marred the constant, unworried expression on his face.

"Elphaba, can we talk?"

She couldn't imagine what Fiyero would have to talk to her about, but she was concerned that whatever it was might be was affecting Galinda as well, so she let herself be led around the dormitory entrance, back out onto a grassy path.

They walked for several minutes in relative silence, though Fiyero would often look up at Elphaba and appear to want to say something, but then he looked down again. He seemed almost afraid to look at her. It was very odd behavior for Fiyero. Elphaba had never him so nervous before. Thinking about it for a moment, she realized she had never seen him nervous at all!

"Do you just not like me?" he said suddenly.

Elphaba stopped and observed Fiyero with a dubious look. What in Oz did he mean?

"Fiyero, don't be silly, you're Galinda's boyfriend of course--"

"Yeah, and you haven't even been speaking to her, so what does that say for me?"

Elphaba's eyes grazed the ground.

"I've just been busy," she said, not looking at Fiyero. She didn't want to explain things to him when she could barely understand it all herself.

"Elphaba, you don't get it, do you?"

This time, she looked up, right into Fiyero's perplexing blue eyes. She felt a strange pull on her insides.

"Get _what_, Fiyero?" she asked, exasperated.

Fiyero's feverish expression seemed to fade somewhat. He had hoped… he had hoped she was just pretending, for Galinda's sake. But now, they were alone and… he didn't know what to think.

"Nothing," he said, "I just thought you might want to know how upset she is that you aren't speaking to her."

Elphaba frowned. She hadn't meant to hurt Galinda. She was just trying not to get hurt herself.

Fiyero resumed walking, his eyes on the ground. He couldn't bear to look at Elphaba.

He had waited a month to speak to her, to tell her how he felt about her, and here she was, walking right next to him, but the words would not come. He didn't think it would do him any good if he could speak anyway; she seemed about as interested in him as she was in Galinda.

Fiyero ran a hand through his hair and nervously rubbed his palms together.

"Will you at least speak to her before the break?" he pleaded. Elphaba had already planned on speaking to Galinda, but the tone in Fiyero's voice made her wonder if it was wise. She could sense something was going on between them. Maybe they weren't so perfect together after all.

"I will," Elphaba said, in spite of her instincts. Fiyero's face lightened slightly and Elphaba felt herself smiling.

"Thanks," Fiyero said, and then, "I guess I'll see you next semester, then."

Elphaba stopped, realizing the weight of what he has said. She wouldn't see him until the next semester. That also meant she wouldn't see Galinda either.

"You know, I think I'll go and see Galinda right now."

Fiyero looked surprised and seemed like he wanted to stop her, but he acquiesced.

"Sure, right, Galinda…"

Elphaba gave him a concerned look before turning around and heading back to the dorm, leaving Fiyero to slowly trudge back to his dorm, where his things were still half unpacked.

------

When Elphaba reached the front door, she strode through confidently but warily. She didn't know what to expect from Galinda after nearly a week of the cold shoulder.

Upon finding herself in front of the closed door that she knew Galinda was behind, she wavered. What could she say to her? Hey, sorry I've been ignoring you, not speaking to you, and walking in the other direction whenever I see you. Want to be friends again? Elphaba laughed inwardly. She certainly liked to make things difficult for herself.

With a plausible line of conversation beneath her tongue, Elphaba opened the door.

Galinda didn't even look up form her packing. She had at least six bags out in front of her, each of which she was jamming to the brim with clothes, shoes, and accessories.

"Fiyero, I told you, I don't know where Elphaba is. I need to finish packing and don't have time to worry about _her_!"

Elphaba was so stunned at the anger in Galinda's words that her own words died in her throat. Galinda continued to yell at the person she thought was there.

"Besides, you should be packing too. You know that my parents are taking the train to Shiz and then riding back with us, so we have to be ready early tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep!"

Elphaba felt nailed to the spot. What Galinda had said, it was all too much to take in at once. She sounded so angry, so angry at her! And Fiyero, he was going home with her? Meeting her parents? What, were they already planning on getting married?

And why had Fiyero been asking for her? Obviously he had been bothering Galinda enough about Elphaba's whereabouts to warrant a certain level of annoyance, but what they had talked about hadn't seemed all that urgent, so what had he really wanted to discuss? Elphaba wondered.

Elphaba tried to sort things out, but the thoughts and questions in her head came all at once and overwhelmed her.

For the first time in her recent memory, Elphaba was very, very confused.

Elphaba immediately abandoned her plans to talk to Galinda. She turned around and left, slamming the door behind her.

Galinda spun at the crash of the door, her face strewn with tears.

"Fa… Fiyero?"

Galinda collapsed on her bed.

"Great!" she said to the empty air. "Now _he_ hates me too!"

Galinda put her head in her hands and let out a weak sob. For over a week, she'd been trying to speak to Elphaba again, but to no avail. Her friends had begun looking at her strangely, whispering behind her back, but she didn't care. She knew what they were saying and, for once, she didn't care!

"Oh, Elphie!"

Galinda slumped in half like a rag doll, resting her head in her lap. She didn't understand why this was happening to her. What had she done to make Elphie so mad? Galinda felt terrible twists in her stomach whenever she thought about it. It just didn't make any sense! She thought she and Elphaba were getting along so well and then… after that day…

She needed to go home. That's what she really needed. She would be home, away from Shiz, away from her friends, away from any green people. Her parents would make her feel much better.

Galinda took a deep breath. The time away would help her and Fiyero, too.

Galinda wiped her face and got off the bed, resuming her packing with a grim determination to fix things.

Without Elphaba.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Fear, Wonder, and Hope

Galinda was born and raised in a relatively small but selective land, a place full of individuals sure of their own importance. Houses were immense, families were small, wallets were wide, and ornate was considered simple in a world where price was never an issue when it came to something you wanted.

Galinda loved her home, the lavish parties, the quiet beauty, the loud beauty. Much as she adored it, though, Galinda—and her parents—loved the prospect of a prosperous future more. So, naturally, sending Galinda to a far away school that would ensure her success was nothing short of a necessity to her parents and to Galinda herself.

Sitting on a bench at five in the morning, though, waiting for the train that would carry her home, Galinda was having trouble convincing herself that the 'perfect' future she had envisioned for herself was what she still wanted and that Shiz was the place where she would find it. She placed her fate in the outcome of the fall break; things had to get better within that month or… Well, she just didn't want to think about the myriad of what ifs.

Having said goodbye to what she surmised to be eighty percent of Shiz's student population, Galinda was more than ready to leave. In truth, she wouldn't have been upset if the previous night became the last time she ever saw any of those people again.

But there was a student or two she still wanted to see, one of whom was sitting right next to her, bleary eyed, unknowing of Galinda's plans for him.

Fiyero rubbed his eyes with the rounded muscles of his palms and sighed. He'd been awake since the previous evening, finding sleep only in the early morning, just three hours before he had to accompany Galinda to the train station. He'd managed to carry all six pieces of her luggage (along with a single suitcase of his own) without collapsing before they found a bench and now, surprisingly, he felt only the slightest residual effects of his lack of sleep. Maybe it was the thought of meeting Galinda's parents, maybe it was the clean, crisp, rainy-cold air forcing him into a state of full consciousness, but Fiyero felt very much awake, whatever the cause. He sighed again, leaning back against the bench.

Fiyero had agreed to spend the winter break with her because it was logical, not out of a desire to meet her family, as Galinda seemed to think or hope. Fiyero lived even farther away from Shiz than Galinda; it would have taken him a week to return home and another week to travel back to Shiz, leaving him very little time to actually spend at home. His parents, he knew, would not even be there (not by their own choice, but the unfortunate effects of being royalty often resulted in time not being one's own). He did not want to spend his break alone, sitting in an empty castle, his head filled with thoughts of green, when he could be with Galinda, letting her fill his mind with other things.

"Here it comes," Galinda said, her neck craning slightly, her voice oddly calm. Fiyero had expected her to jump off the bench, she'd talked about her parents so much over the past month. He had thought she would at least seem excited, but she just sat there, taking deep, slow, shuddering breaths.

The train rolled to a halt, the gears locking along the tracks with one loud "clack". Smoke billowed from the stack in great, white clouds and a whistle announced the train's arrival at Shiz station to the passengers.

It took several moments for the overnight riders to rouse themselves and their traveling partners. When the people began to exit, Galinda rose onto her tip-toes, her immense carryon bag gripped so fiercely in her left hand that her tiny veins protruded slightly. She was about to put on one of the greatest acts of her life and the thoughts lingering like ghosts in the shadows of her mind did nothing to help the nervous sickness in the pit of her stomach from fear of what would happen with her parents.

Galinda had reason enough to be frightened. From a young age, Galinda had learned what it was her parents wanted from her: perfection. Love them as she did, Galinda knew that anything that went wrong in her life would be meticulously dissected. She would be forced to look over every detail until the problem was fixed. And this was one time that Galinda did not want her parents involved.

She wasn't very good at hiding matters from them, though. Or, rather, her parents were very good at wheedling things out of her.

Every since she had been old enough to lie, Galinda's father had been attune to her moods. That, more often than not, was enough for him to uncover what was truly amiss with his daughter, even when she did her best to hide her feelings. From her first bad to grade to her first broken heart, her father had discovered the root of her troubles. He sniffed them out and his wife, with the slow compassion every mother can only hope for, would slowly draw Galinda out from the box which she so often created for herself when she was upset.

It had always been good for Galinda, in the end, that her parents were so perceptive. Together, they were able to care for her mentally, emotionally, and physically, and Galinda genuinely appreciated their concern and attention, even when she said otherwise.

But this time was different. So afraid was Galinda of the feelings inside of her that she was determined to hide her inner conflict from her parents, lest they force her to confront them.

And Galinda wasn't just doing this for herself, for once. She wanted to protect her parents from what she thought would be a devastating disappointment.

Why they would be disappointed, Galinda would not allow herself to think about. Instead, she grabbed for Fiyero's hand as more people exited the train, pulling him up from the bench. She gave him a nervous smile and could only hope that he would attribute her nervousness to the meeting of her parents and future husband.

Fiyero gave Galinda a reassuring squeeze, though whether for himself or for her, he was uncomfortably unsure.

Galinda's eyes scanned the faces streaming by for some indication, some glimmer of recognition in familiar eyes. For a long, tense moment, Fiyero and Galinda stood there, standing as though on the edge of their unsure future, waiting for the something—or, rather, some ones--that would push them into what they wanted to be the right direction.

Out of the sea of people rose the twittering hand of a woman that Fiyero did not need to be told about to know who she was, even before she opened her glossed-pink lips.

"GALINDA! Oh, Galliny, dear! OVER HERE!"

Fiyero, eyes wide at the sight of this woman, turned to his right and saw that Galinda's face had completely changed. Her round cheeks were high on her face and her nose crinkled comically. He could no longer read the sadness that had been there only moments ago.

"MUMSY!" Galinda squealed, releasing Fiyero's hand and throwing herself into her mother's open arms. Fiyero did his best to keep his facial expression neutral. He bit his bottom lip; it was all he could do to keep his jaw from dropping.

Galinda looked _exactly_ like her mother! Granted, Galinda's face was a bit rounder, her body a bit fuller, but everything else was precisely the same, from the bouncy golden locks down to the pink, heeled shoes. It was looking at a reflection in a lake, rippling softly.

As soon as the two women were finished making a scene with their embrace, Galinda reached for the man behind her mother, the person Fiyero assumed was Galinda's father.

He was tall, much taller than Fiyero had expected given Galinda's short stature. His tawny hair was thick and slightly wavy and his face was slightly weathered, lightly tanned. He probably boated, Fiyero thought. The only thing that gave a person that sort of color was an activity that involved the outdoors and the only physical labor that his sort, the aristocratic breed, enjoyed was, in Fiyero's experience with such a manner of personage, boating. That and hunting, but you didn't get much sunlight when covered in camouflage.

"Popsy," Fiyero heard Galinda say as she snatched at the man's hand. She pulled on his arm, dislodging herself from her mother and jumping into her father's arms like a cocker spaniel eager for a treat. Her father staggered backed a few feet to retain his balance.

"Ooph, hello, Galinda, sweetheart," he said between gasps of air as Galinda sporadically kissed him when she wasn't hugging around his waist almost painfully tight. He laughed as Galinda hopped up and down in trying to reach his face with her pursed little lips and Fiyero couldn't help but laugh, too. He tried to mask his laughter with a cough behind his balled hand, but the noise had already attracted the attention of the trio.

"And who is _this_?"

Galinda's father turned his daughter forward. She gave Fiyero a nervous grin, looking somehow pained to be reminded of his presence.

"Poppy seed, Mumsy muffins, this," she said, with her hands upturned, "is Fiyero."

Both of her parents pushed passed Galinda, their eyes on the young individual. They took in the cut of his trousers, the thickness of his soft-looking hair, the startling blue of his eyes. Fiyero suddenly felt the heat of each and every person passing by as they closed in on him.

"So _you're_ the young man my little star shine is so taken with," he father said, taking just two, swift steps to close the gap between himself and the boy he had come to know as "Fiyero Upland" with little hearts drawn next to the name in pink ink. Fiyero gulped and nearly jumped back when the man thrust his hand out.

"Ganton Upland," he said, grabbing Fiyero's outstretched hand, mistaking his movement of defense as a motion to shake. "It's wonderful to finally meet you, isn't it, Falinda?"

Mrs. Upland came from behind her husband and put out a dainty hand for Fiyero to take.

Fiyero gave her hand a moment's attention before taking just the tips of her fingers in his own, pulling her hand toward his face so he could press his lips to her knuckles. He pulled her hand down but did not release; the look in her eyes made Fiyero was glad, for once, for his upbringing.

"Madame Upland," he said, his voice an octave lower than usual, his vigilantly hidden north-eastern accent seeping in, "I see now where Galinda gets her beauty. The apple does not fall far from the tree."

He kissed her hand again and held it gently, thumbing the knuckles. Mrs. Upland blushed three shades of pink before Galinda stepped between her stuttering mother and all too friendly boyfriend.

"Well, now you've met and we need to get going," she said, blushing a little herself.

Mr. Upland placed a hand on Fiyero's shoulder.

"Oh, don't fret, pet," he said to Galinda. "We won't embarrass you in front of him."

Mr. Upland winked at Fiyero, his slightly crinkled brow wrinkling further. A shimmer in his green eyes made Fiyero wonder what he had gotten himself into.

"She's right, though," he said, releasing Fiyero who, despite his manners and general calm, was almost shaking from the single touch. He knew he had a lot to prove to Mr. Upland before he would allow him to continue seeing his "little star shine".

------

After no small amount of effort, everything was loaded into the train. Fiyero was wondering where all the other passengers were going to put their luggage, but he was concerned only briefly. The call of the plush seat was too strong a siren's song for him to counter with such thoughts and he succumbed, slumping into the seat next to Galinda, across from the seat which Mr. Upland eventually filled. It wasn't long at all before they were on their way.

Galinda, who had initially flopped into her seat while her parents were checking their tickets, with a relieved, almost bemused expression on her face, sat straight up when her mother and father re-entered the car. After a few minutes of sitting with her back firmly against the seat, she relaxed slightly, attaining a balanced position of comfort and proper posture. She sighed quietly.

Well, they don't hate him, she thought, her nerves just beginning to settle down. Galinda could tell already that her mother was fond of him, for whatever reason, she didn't care. As long as she liked him, her mother would do her best to make sure he and Galinda stayed together. Galinda was counting in that.

Her father, however, was harder to read. Lacking Ganton's clairvoyant sense for emotion, she would have to figure out his thoughts the old fashion way, with the old Galinda charm. She couldn't ask him out right, she knew. But she could start working on it.

"Popsicle," Galinda said, an extra layer of sweetness added on to her voice that Fiyero had never before heard. It roused him from his comfortable dozing. Galinda's father looked up from the book in his lap and gave his daughter a curious look.

"What is it, princess?"

Galinda put her hands in her lap and rocked back and forth, swinging her legs. Fiyero couldn't believe what he was seeing; had she suddenly regressed a decade, or was this just the act she put on for her parents?

"What do you have planned?"

Mr. Upland gave Galinda a looked of genuine surprise.

"Planned?" He placed an open hand to his chest, ignoring the muffled giggling of his wife. "Why, Galinda, dear, you insult me! I could never be so… _devious _as to have something _planned_!"

Judging by the mischievous wink he gave Galinda, though, Fiyero gathered that this was just some sort of game. He feared all too much that it would end up involving himself.

"Don't be silly, Poppy, you know you always have a present for me when I end the semester. You're just trying to trick me like you always do! Well, this year, it won't work!"

Fiyero shook his head and watched the rest of the exchange with a slight grin on his face.

"Oh, I know, you're too smart for that now, our little university girl. I won't pretend I don't know what you talking about, but don't go asking what it is because I won't tell you."

Galinda pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at her father, but he just shook his head, laughed, and returned to his reading. Galinda simply had to set her sights on an easier target.

Mrs. Upland looked about to burst.

"Tell me, Mumsy-doodle."

Mr. Upland threw a hand out between the two women just as his wife was opening her mouth. "Oh, no you don't," he said without every looking up from his book. "You'll find out soon enough. Why don't you just relax? Enjoy the ride home." And he sat back as though that ended it.

Fiyero tried to catch Galinda's eye, but she was staring out the window, the gears whirring, almost visible through her eyes. For the rest of the trip, she sat like that, ruminating over the possibilities, a light in her face that Fiyero had not seen in a long time.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: A Rose is a Rose, Unless it's a Lily.

The cool wind whipped through the open wheat field, bending the tall plants back as easily as one would a weightless feather. Elphaba, crouched on a hill overlooking the farm valley, ignored the black locks in her eyes as the wind threw her hair in all directions. Her hand touched the dry ground softly to keep her balance; her legs were bent but ready for movement. She looked like a lioness, waiting, hidden yet in plain sight. Her eyes scanned the horizon and slowly, her lips curled in an odd little smile.

It was good to be home.

Before Shiz, Elphaba had never thought the plains of the East to be so beautiful. She had sat upon the hill just south west of her home many times as a child, but never before had she seen them and felt as though she were home.

She felt almost at peace.

It was only a week into the holiday, but already Elphaba felt it would be the best time of her life. Yes, she was away from her school work and magic, but the promise of meeting the Wizard when she returned was enough to keep her almost happy.

No, she was happy.

Well… Elphaba shrugged. She wouldn't think about that now.

She was home, her father was almost pleased with her, and Nessa was treating her like a sister rather than an annoyance. With all that, how could she ask for more? If i>she /i> didn't want her, than she'd simply find someone else who did.

"Don't start," Elphaba told herself, "Because, once you do, you won't be able to stop thinking, wishing, hoping..."

Elphaba sighed. She knew the truth of her own words. That logic was all she had to rely on but…

She just couldn't help wishing that, for once, she might be wrong.

"Elphaba! Elphaba? Elphaba, where are you?"

Nessarose, wheeling herself onto the front porch, called out to her sister, but it took another moment for her eyes to fall on a bundle of black seated atop the hill. Nessa called to her again, and the wind carried her voice to the crouched figure. Elphaba turned, her hair whipping her face, her green eyes piercing even from a distance. Nessa thought she looked almost frightening, yet beautiful. That's how Elphaba always was, but it was intensified at the moment, by the silence and the dark cloak draped loosely over her shoulders.

"Dinners ready," she said, her voice cracking with the look Elphaba gave her. Sometimes it was as if Elphaba could look right through her soul with those eyes. Her heart raced and she caught her breath only when Elphaba looked away.

Elphaba stood up and strolled back towards the house and Nessa turned herself around and went back into the house.

------

"Now, make sure you keep a level hand on that, Fiyero. Wouldn't want us tipping over, now would we?"

Mr. Upland patted Fiyero's shoulder in an almost fatherly fashion, grinning broadly as the young man deftly maneuvered the medium sized boat across the water.

"He's a natural!" Mr. Upland shouted over his shoulder. Mother and daughter smiled and nodded.

"Poppy seems to like him, Mumsies," Galinda said, sipping her tea with a light hand, holding her overcoat tightly closed with the other. Mrs. Upland, who almost disappeared in her massive fur coat, had more difficulty in drinking the hot liquid, but managed to respond through the white fluff.

"Your father and I both agree that Fiyero is a fine young man. Wonderful prospect for a husband," she said, very matter-of-factly. Galinda, torn between shock and joy, just smiled.

"Oh, do you really think so? I mean, you've only known him for… less than two weeks!"

Mrs. Upland sipped her tea and said, "But we already know all we need to know." She put down her saucer, seeing by her daughter's expression that an explanation was needed.

"He's from the Northwest," she said, tallying each qualifying attribute off on her thin fingers, "he's handsom, he's polite, he's very articulate, and he's just so sweet! Galinda, you will never find a better match, I know it. You should marry that boy!"

Galinda smiled at her mother and turned, looking over at her father and Fiyero, obviously bonding. This was just what she had wanted: her mother approved not only of Fiyero but supported a future relationship, her father loved him, and even though her dog, Shooshoo, didn't seem to like him, Shoo didn't like anyone, so that was to be expected! Things were going better than she could have hoped for.

Then why did she feel so unhappy?

"Galinda, dearest," her father called, "Come up her and watch your future husband maneuver the boat that will one day be his!"

Fiyero flushed crimson and turned to smile at Galinda, though there was a weakness in his smile that Galinda could almost see. She smiled back, but her heart could not support her farce, so her cheeks did not seem as rosy, despite the cold nipping at them.

"See?" her mother said. "Even your father approves. He's perfect."

"Yes," Galinda said softly. "Perfect."

------

"No. No, I'm not going."

"Oh, Elphaba, do be mature about this!"

Three weeks into the holiday, Nessa decided it would be good for them if she and Elphaba attended the Winter Solstice festival.

"But Nessa, I thought you hated going to that festival. It's so hard to move in your wheel chair over the hay."

Nessa, who was tying a new bow on her head, ignored Elphaba's foreboding sense of worry.

"Elphaba, father is always trying to get us more interested in the holidays." Having fitted the ribbon, Nessa spun her chair around. "Why don't we just give him a reason to think we care? It's a free day," she said, pushing towards her bed, "and we should just enjoy getting away."

Elphaba wanted to believe that Nessa simply wanted to spend time with her, but years of instinct could not be pushed down, even with the amazing leaps and bounds their relationship had made. And the blush on Nessa's face, the perfection with which she had dressed, and the smile on her taunt lips told Elphaba that she wasn't wrong in thinking something was up.

"He's going to be there, isn't he," Elphaba said with a sigh.

Nessa turned sharply, meeting Elphaba's gaze. She immediately decided that any attempt to lie would be futile.

"Yes," she breathed, looking down to her lap. "Please, Elphaba, I'm sorry I didn't tell you…"

"It's alright. I know you like him and…well, it would give me time to just be alone for once, now wouldn't it?"

Nessa looked up, a smile in her eyes and on her lips.

"Oh, thank you, Elphaba! This means so much to me…"

Nessa rolled over to her closet and pulled out one of her nicest cloaks. Elphaba, out of routine, went to assist her, slipping the cloak behind Nessa and tying the loop gently.

As she knelt in front of her sister, checking that everything was done correctly and wouldn't interfere with the chair, she noticed a look on Nessa's face that she had never seen before and it was almost enough to break her heart. She looked so happy, so… _in love_.

And you'll never be able to feel like that, will you, the voice in her mind said. Because at least Nessa has a chance, she can try! But you, no, oh ho no, you won't ever have that chance.

"Shut up," Elphaba said under her breath. Nessa looked up, the flush on her cheeks oddly contrasting with her worried expression.

"Elphaba? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing, Nessa," she said, standing, a soft smile touching her lips. She looked over at her sister who, in the light of the afternoon sun dripping in through the window, looked rather pretty. She certainly was a tragic beauty.

Not as tragic as you, the voice said, but Elphaba stuffed it down before it could taunt her further.

"We'd better be going then, wouldn't want to keep Boq waiting."

Nessa smiled, the mention of Boq chasing all other thoughts from her mind like butterflies swept in the wind that threw the curtains around her. Elphaba turned Nessa around and took the handles, pushing her sister out of the room.

------

The servants in the Upland house were very precise and, like everything else the Upland's owned (for they most certainly owned their help), were as close to perfection as possible. They worked silently when in the presence of the Master and Madame, or in front of guests, if they were seen at all. It was almost as though there were secret passage ways throughout the mansion; they appeared and vanished so quickly. Few people knew the number of hands belonging to the Upland house, but one could be assured it was upwards of fifty.

With that many servants, it was only understandable that Mrs. Upland was in a twitter when she found Galinda in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes from that night's meal.

"Galinda, what in Oz's name are you doing? That's your wand hand you're using!"

Galinda ignored her mother and scrubbed the plate, trying to clean away something much harder to erase. The light green plate was practically sparkling, but still she cleaned.

"Galinda, dear, please, stop this nonsense this instant."

Mrs. Upland took the plate from her and pushed Galinda away from the sink and into a chair. She knelt in front of her daughter, searching her face for explanation.

"What has come over you? Over that last few days you've been so… so… _unlike_ your _usual_ self. Have your father and I done something wrong?"

Galinda searched her mother's eyes and an aching pain returned to her heart.

For the past three weeks, her parents had been nothing short of darling. They been wonderful to Fiyero and to her and she could not have asked for or expected anything more and yet, her she was, going almost insane over green plates.

"Oh, Mumsy, it's Fiyero," she said, honestly. Mrs. Upland smiled and stroked a few bits of soap suds out of Galinda's hair.

"I understand, sweetheart, I was the same way when I first met your father."

You were in love with another person? Galinda thought nervously.

"I was so in love that I was worried he would leave and break my heart. I mean, he was so attractive, all the girls wanted him," she said, taking Galinda's sigh of relief for something it wasn't, "but I knew he was mine. He loved me, just like I see Fiyero loves you."

Galinda shivered and her mother stood knelt up, encircling Galinda in her arms.

"Everything will be alright, darling," she said, "and you and Fiyero will be together for a long, long time."

Galinda pressed her face into her mother's cashmere sweater and the tears that fell over Mrs. Upland's shoulder her mother thought to be the soft release of happiness.

------

Boq certainly looked surprised to see us, Elphaba said to herself. It was odd; he'd been expecting them, so maybe it was just her accompanying Nessa that had caused his look of shock and almost fear. When he had taken Nessa's wheelchair in hand, he looked confused and startled.

"I seem to have that effect on people," she said aloud. The woman in the popcorn stand said nothing, but stared at Elphaba until she walked away.

Luckily, most of the older townsfolk were entirely used to seeing Elphaba. It was only the young, they who were new to the world in general, whom paused to stare at her.

And it was never the innocent wonder of the child that offended her. It was the parents, who shuffled their children away when Elphaba offered them some of her popcorn that made her skin tingle with the impending magic that would have been released, had she not had training with Madame Morrible. Her pride at being able to control her magic overwhelmed the feelings of anger and sadness.

Overall, though, the day was not any worse than she could have expected. The staring came with the territory, but nothing else happened. No outbursts, no rude comments. It was, in Elphaba's case, a very good day.

Stopping at a small flower shop, Elphaba smelled each flora before a sales woman approached her. For a moment, she was taken aback by her first glance, but she soon overcame it. A sale was a sale, no matter what the customer looked like.

"Was there something specific you were looking for, dear?"

Elphaba regarded the older woman with a warm smile. She fondled a white flower between her fingers and took a deep breath of it.

"This flower," Elphaba said, almost too wrapped in the scent to speak, "What is it?"

The woman smiled, obviously glad of Elphaba's choice.

"It is a wild flower, grown only in the far north, past the upper lands… very rare…" She gathered a small bunch of the flowers and pulled a ribbon out of her pocket. "Shall I bundle them up for you?"

Elphaba smelled the flower once more and closed her eyes. She could almost believe that the soft, pale white of the flowers was the color of skin beneath her fingers. The contrast of her green fingers of the pale flesh color was beautiful to Elphaba

"I'll take them all," Elphaba said, not caring about the price. The saleswoman's eyes lit up with the words and she called over an assistant to aid her as she picked up the entire vase.

Elphaba turned away as they put the bundle together, smelling the single white flower as though she could never have enough of it. The scent was so wonderful, so familiar. It felt like she was under some sort of spell; she needed to have this scent around her always.

Just as Elphaba was giving the woman the exact amount of gold coin, Nessa rolled up beside her with Boq.

"Elphaba, I have to go home," he said, and he let go of Nessa without saying another word.

"See you at school, Boq!" Nessa called after him, but he didn't turn around. She forced a smile as she turned to Elphaba.

"Thank you for taking me Elphaba, really, I appreciate… What are those flowers for?"

Elphaba turned, holding the vase (which the saleswoman had kindly thrown in, though Elphaba would have been happy to simply carry them all the way home, but she had to keep them in water) but she did not answer her sister.

She wanted to carry the vase, but she couldn't push Nessa and hold them flowers, so she settled for holding the first flower she had picked, slipping it behind her ear, and gave Nessa the heavy vase.

"Oh, these smell lovely, Elphaba," Nessa said, breathing in the scent. Elphaba's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, they're fine, let's get home."

Elphaba wanted to get the flowers into her room and just throw them about, letting the scent blanket her, the sooner the better.

"You know," Nessa said, looking curiously at the flowers and sniffing them thoughtfully, "these smell just like that perfume Galinda likes, the one Boq showed me before we left on break."

Elphaba stopped abruptly, but resumed just as suddenly.

"Is something wrong?"

"Just a rock," Elphaba muttered. She took another breath and tried to convince herself that Nessa was wrong.

"I just liked them," Elphaba defended. "I've never even smelled that perfume." She knew it was a lie, but she needed to lie, at least to herself. Otherwise, she couldn't enjoy the scent of the flowers and pretend that it wasn't because they were pale, like her skin, or soft, like her lips, or…

"I just liked them," she repeated, pushing Nessa a little faster. "That's all."


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Horses of Different Colors

Galinda's room was the second largest (after that of her parents) and a walk-in closet eliminated the need for a wardrobe or a bureau, so it appeared to be even more spacious with only her vanity and bed on opposite sides of the room. The expanse of pinkish carpet seemed to go on forever, until it did indeed stop, rather abruptly, at the stone border of the balcony floor. That, too, was rather roomy, more an outdoor room than a balcony.

The immenseness of the room, formally a source of pride for Galinda, only intensified the feeling that she was terribly alone.

Galinda tried to ignore the worried crinkle of her brow, the sporadic tear, by finishing up her packing. Most of her things were sprawled out over the cover of her bed, a high percentage of her belongings being prepared for the return journey to Shiz.

She didn't want to go back, but she couldn't stay. Galinda knew that one more day in her home would drive the final nail in the coffin of her sanity.

Had the break been so terrible? No, of course not, Galinda told herself. Her parents had spent virtually every day with her and Fiyero, boating or guffing (a strange little sport Galinda could not understand the purpose of, where they hit little balls into small holes with large clubs) or some other very bonding-oriented activity. And the Winter Solstice had been marvelous; she had more handbags than you could shake a wand at from her parents and a sweet little music box from Fiyero, and yet she was not as overjoyed as she pretended to be. She could not blame her parents for her meloncholy, though, for they had been nothing but wonderful, nothing but supportive, telling her often and jovially, with a twinkle of pride in their eyes, how much they adored Fiyero and could not wait for the good news.

And Fiyero! Oh, goodness, Fiyero had been nothing short of perfect! Galinda thought, unhappily re-folding a shirt for the fourth time. He had been noble, gentle, sweet as a peach that was perfectly ripe. Her parents watched him with a loving eye, as though he were already their son in law. "He is the perfect gentleman," they had each said, many, many times over the past month.

"Perhaps a bit _too_ perfect," Galinda said miserably.

"But this is what you wanted, isn't it?"

Galinda shook her head, trying to ignore the little voice that sounded strangely like her own.

"You've got the education", she heard it say, "The friends, the family, and now the man. What more could a girl ask for?"

Galinda's lower lip trembled as she listened. Her chest heaved in air with great effort; she felt like she was suffocating in the emptiness.

"Love," she spoke, her voice a mere crackle of sound.

Too distressed by her own thoughts to reign in the emotions that had been waiting patiently beneath the surface, Galinda collapsed onto her bed, right over her unpacked clothing and half-filled suitcase.

"I hate her," she murmured to the emptiness, then louder, "I hate you!"

"No, you don't," she heard, "Quite the opposite, actually."

"No, no, no, I hate her! I love Fiyero!"

Galinda shimmied off of the bed, covering her ears to block out the voice, but it said nothing. She wiped her tears on her sleeves and tried to compose herself.

"I love Fiyero," she said, burying any feelings to the contrary, at least momentarily, "because that's who I should love."

The voice was silent.

But then, as Galinda began to once more try and put away her things, she heard another voice, this one deeper and colored with pained anger.

"_People that hate each other don't share secrets_."

Galinda tried to cough away the sobs she felt surfacing and dismissed her tears as a byproduct of the cold breeze coming in through the open balcony doors.

Shivering, Galinda shuffled across the room to close them. Once her hands caught the arched handles, though, she was drawn out onto the balcony by the beckoning light of a full moon.

Galinda hardly felt the icy coldness of the stone beneath her bare feet as she slowly made her way to the balcony's low wall, her nightgown fluttering like pink, satin wings beneath the wool sweater she had thrown on thoughtlessly. The chilled air rose around her in wisps, trailing her skin like ice being lightly drawn over her exposed flesh. She leaned over the rounded top of the balcony wall, folding her arms loosely.

The night was beautiful, she had to admit. The moon was big and bright, the stars chiming in like a glowing chorus of musical light. The crisp, clean air filled and bit Galinda's lungs, both refreshing and prickling at the same time. Galinda put her arms around herself, resting her elbows atop the wall and closed her eyes, wishing she were in the arms of someone else.

She shut her eyes more tightly and, in an instant, she could almost believe she was. Galinda could feel the warmth of another person, pressed against her back. The stranger laid their head against the back of Galinda's neck and for a moment, she could feel the tingle of someone's warm breath on her skin. She felt her body vibrate with the all too real sensation and Galinda's eyes opened slowly.

She was alone.

With a pitiful sob, Galinda lowered her head to her chest, holding herself tightly.

------

Elphaba's arms searched the darkness for the person she'd had in her arms only a moment ago, but felt only the vast emptiness of the space over the edge of her bed.

Elphaba's eyes blinked open. To her surprise, she wasn't on some strange balcony; she was in her own bed. That same scent, though, still surrounded her. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, the aroma making her believe she wasn't awake, she wasn't in her bed, she hadn't been dreaming. But her eyes eventually crept open once more and she was in her room, alone. Elphaba sat up, raking a hand through her tangled hair. She picked up the clock on her nightstand with a yawn.

The hands told her three a.m., but her body told her she wasn't going to get anymore sleep. She slipped her bottom off the bed and fumbled in the dark for her flats.

Elphaba stumbled out of her room and carefully navigated the stairway down from her attic room to the second floor landing, heading immediately for the second set of stairs.

The staircase to the first floor was divided into two parts: one side of moderately shallow stairs, the other smooth, but with very little incline. Years ago, before Elphaba had been born, the second path (it couldn't really be called a staircase; it had no stairs) had been constructed to allow Nessa access to the second floor. Though it was dangerous to do on her own, Nessa could get up and down easily with the assistance of just Elphaba or her father. Elphaba could not count the number of times she had been there just in time to catch Nessa when her chair had begun to roll too quickly or started going back down when Nessa was trying to go up. She remembered the many times, to, that she had taken the blame, saying she had lost her hold on Nessa's chair. She didn't know why she did it--Nessa would never do something like that for her—but she did, many times.

Elphaba shuffled out the front door, closing it gently so as not to wake anyone. But someone, she found, was already awake.

"Hello, Nessa," she said, only marginally surprised. "Pretty amazing, getting yourself out of bed, into your chair, _and_ down stairs on your own."

Nessa chuckled softly. Normally, she would have retorted, but she knew now that those sarcastic comments she had thought Elphaba intended to be biting were merely part of her personality. Elphaba sat down, her legs crossed, next to the right wheel of Nessa's chair.

"Are you nervous about going back?" Nessa asked suddenly.

Elphaba looked up at Nessa, her face pointed out to the plains, and she was momentarily at a loss for words. Nessa looked so much like her father sometimes, especially in her sharp profile, that it startled Elphaba.

"Of course you aren't," Nessa answered herself, laughing almost harshly, "You're never nervous about anything are you, Elphaba?"

"How long have you been awake?" Elphaba asked, trying to change the subject. Nessa turned back to the cold air again, her eyes far off in the distant waves of dancing wheat.

"Long enough to know I'll sleep all the way to Shiz," she said with a dry laugh. She reached for her sister and Elphaba took Nessa's hand cautiously.

"Why are you up?" Nessa asked, rubbing the back of Elphaba's hand with her thumb. Elphaba pondered. Short of telling her the truth, she had few options.

"Couldn't sleep," she admitted. It was as close to the truth as she would dare go. Nessa nodded, accepting the response.

"I understand. You must be so anxious about meeting the Wizard…."

"Of course, the Wizard," Elphaba agreed with a nervous laugh. She watched the ground for a moment before fiddling with her shoes, trying not to appear at all perturbed. Nessa coughed and covered her face with the blanket wrapped around her.

"You're worried about him, aren't you."

Nessa bit her lip at the blank statement. She turned to Elphaba, fear in her tear-filled eyes.

"Is it that obvious?"

Elphaba reached up and brushed a few tears aside.

"It's alright to feel this way, Nessa. We all feel afraid sometimes for the ones we love."

"It's not that," Nessa said, lifting her head away, "It's just…"

Elphaba waited for her to continue, but if there was one thing the sisters had in common, it was their ability to maneuver a listener away from the truth.

"It's nothing, Elphaba, you're right. Why don't we go inside and get some breakfast, since we're up? The cook never lets me make anything on my own."

Elphaba nodded and stood, offering Nessa her assistance, but she refused, as she usually did when out of the presence of her father. Elphaba instead went ahead to open the door.

As Elphaba strode back inside, Nessa took a moment's pause to breathe and settle her thoughts. Elphaba held the door aside, her concerned expression half hidden in the shadow the door created.

"Ness? You coming?"

Nessa shook the thoughts from her head and gave Elphaba a smile. "Yes, I just don't really want to go inside. You can't see the night sky at Shiz... It's so beautiful." She sighed, resting her hands in her lap, eyes upward to the stars.

Elphaba watched the glowing orb that was slowing sinking into the horizon, breathing gently.

"Yes," she said, an odd look in her eyes that Nessa could not have understood, even if she had seen it. "Very beautiful."

------

"Train to Shiz University, last call! Shiz University, leaving presently!"

Elphaba raced through the crowd, using Nessa as a battering ram against the unmoving people.

"Elphaba, slow down!" Nessa cried, clutching her carryon case to her chest, but Elphaba careened through the smallest open space, with little heed to her sister's outrage at being used in such a way. She could only think of one thing at the moment, and it was not worrying about Nessa. Get on the train, she repeated in her mind.

"Sorry, Ness, can't be late!"

Elphaba ducked her head behind Nessa's chair and pushed blindly through the crowd.

"Coming through!"

Finally, they came to a sliding halt, just feet from the train. Nessa held her hands at her chest and shot Elphaba an evil look.

"What?" Elphaba said, looking offended. "Did you want to miss the train?"

Elphaba scoffed, but Nessa continued to glare.

"ELPHABA!"

The booming voice of her father made Elphaba straighten immediately, her adrenaline wrangled into submission.

"Father, I'm sorry, I just didn't want to--"

"Enough."

He pushed past her to kneel carefully in front of Nessa.

"Have a good semester, sweetheart," he said, producing a box from behind his back. Nessa looked at the white container excitedly, her eyes darting from father to box and back until she finally slipped the lid off with one hand.

"Oh!" Nessa put her one hand slowly into the box and pulled out something that Elphaba could only see to be covered in shimmering light.

"Jeweled shoes!" Nessa squealed. She fussed for a moment, thanking her father a thousand times, before she saw Elphaba's hardened expression. She gently placed the shoes back in the box.

"Precious diamonds," her father said, the exchange between Nessa and his other daughter going unnoticed, "Befitting the future governess of Munchkinland."

Suddenly all thought of Elphaba was lost.

"Oh, Father, do you really think so?"

He smiled and patted her on the shoulder, a look of pride on his wide face.

"Yes. One day, you will be my successor. But now," he said, leaning forward to place a kiss atop her head, "you'd better be off." Her turned to Elphaba and took the box containing the shoes from Nessa, thrusting it and Nessa's carryon bag into Elphaba's hands. She nearly dropped both.

"Get going," he said to Elphaba, as she tried to fumble neither box nor bag, "and make sure nothing happens to her shoes."

With a final kiss to Nessa, he slipped away.

Nessa looked positively giddy. She fanned herself in disbelief as Elphaba turned her chair around.

"Do you hear that Elphaba? Future Governess!"

Elphaba ignored her as she sought the aid of one of the luggage hands to pull Nessa up into the couch.

Nessa frowned as Elphaba heaved her up, a blank expression on her green face.

"Oh, Elphaba, don't be upset. He doesn't know how much he hurts you, really."

"He knows," was Elphaba's curt reply and Nessa made no further effort to broach the subject.

As soon as she had Nessa into the train seat and situated the wheeled chair between the two seats next them (so it would not move during the trip as well serve as a deterrent for anyone who wanted to sit near them) Elphaba slumped into her chair wordlessly, her face towards the window.

Throughout the trip, Nessa opened her box a fraction of an inch so she could peer in and make sure her shoes were still there. Just a glimpse of the shimmering contents and she was satisfied for another few minutes, thinking over the possible prominent places to place them in her room.

Every once in awhile, Nessa would momentarily forget about her shoes and look up at Elphaba, only to find her still staring out the window, a single white flower held perpetually beneath her nose.

------

Mr. Upland _insisted_ on taking Galinda and Fiyero to the train station.

"Popsy, you don't have to," Galinda said sweetly, but if she had to say in for the sixteenth time, she wasn't sure of how nicely it was going to come out.

"Galinda-bug, I'm taking you, and that is final."

Galinda looked up at her father, mouth agape, displaying the bite of blueberry muffin she had just taken. Fiyero and Mrs. Upland exchanged glances before burying their reddened faces in their oatmeal and toast, respectively.

"But-"

"It's not up for discussion, Galinda-kins," Ganton said gently, but Falinda and Fiyero could tell Galinda's tireless efforts to change his mind were wearing on his nerves. He patted Galinda's shoulder as he passed her into the parlor, obviously intent on avoiding any further discourse on the matter.

"Your father has his reasons, dear," Falinda tried, but Galinda ignored her, shoving the rest of her muffin in her mouth and pouting the remainder of the morning. When she was finished eating, she stomped around the house so loudly that her forced steps could be heard echoing throughout the mansion right up until she appeared at the front door with her things, face puffed like an angry pink blowfish.

"Let's be off then, shall we?" Mr. Upland said, overly charmingly. Galinda rolled her eyes as her father held open the door. Falinda and Ganton snickered as quietly as they could as Galinda stomped down the front steps, her head down.

"Galinda, look up," Fiyero said. Galinda pouted.

"No."

Fiyero skipped down the steps and stood in front of Galinda, forcing her chin up with his hand.

"Galinda, look!"

Galinda's teary eyes blurred what she saw.

"I don't get it, it's just a carriage."

Fiyero laughed and tugged his sleeve down to wipe her tears.

"There. Now look."

When Galinda's focus returned, she was looking at a very large, very ornate carriage. It had to be made of cherry wood from top to bottom and there were silver and pink lines of metal racing up the sides, intertwining to look like vines and flowers where the wheels began and forming the thick base of the driver's seat. It was rather lovely, but Galinda didn't understand why Fiyero wanted her to look at it so much.

"Galinda, the horses!" Fiyero finally shouted. Galinda's eyes darted to the front of carriage and her pupils dilated from the shock.

"PINK!"

The horse to the left was undeniably a bright, brilliant pink. The mane was a lighter pink, almost creamy in color, but every part of the horse was some shade of pink, from the dark, rosy color of its nose to the deep, almost black of its hooves.

Galinda turned back to her parents, her mouth wide.

"Is this…?"

Her father laughed, pulling Falinda to him.

"It's yours, sweetie," her mother said, smiling. Ganton was grinning from ear to ear.

"Can't have you running about in those… _rented_ carriages like some commoner, now can we?"

Galinda squealed so loudly that Fiyero had to cover his ears. She spun around and hoped down the remaining stairs, taking three in one bound.

"She's _beautiful_," Galinda said, stroking the pink mare gently. The horse whinnied softly and turned her face to Galinda, pushing her muzzle into Galinda's open palm.

"Oh, Popsy-opsy, I love her!"

"Look at the other one," Ganton said, indicating the horse on the other side. But Galinda, being the size she was, could not see over the pink mare. She tried to duck and look from beneath her belly, but all she saw was the glimpse of a dark hoof tapping the ground.

Curious, Galinda crept around the mare to see the second horse, also anchored to the carriage.

Galinda shrieked.

"GREEN?"

Falinda and Ganton looked at each other and smiled. She must love it! Their eyes said to each other.

"A horse of a very different color! We got them from the Emerald City," Ganton said, obviously proud of their origin. Galinda stumbled back from the horse, which lowered its head, it's large, deep brown eyes locked on her.

"Aren't they great?" Fiyero said, coming up beside Galinda. "Your parents made me swear I wouldn't say a word, and I almost couldn't keep my promise!"

Galinda hadn't heard a word Fiyero had said. She just stared, wide eyed, at the green horse, the mare's head still low, her eyes fixed upon Galinda.

"Well? Don't you want to see the inside?"

Galinda nodded faintly and Fiyero grabbed her arm, forcibly tearing her eyes from the horse.

As Galinda was led into the carriage, Mr. and Mrs. Ganton descended. Fiyero took the bags and slung them onto the carriage roof.

Galinda sank into the plushy pink seats, hoping her parents would take her sudden lack of excitement for total amazement at the pink-pink-pink interior. Her family and Fiyero filed in quickly, smiling at Galinda as though they all were in on some wonderful joke.

Galinda shut her eyes and spent the entire ride trying not to cry.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Injustice

The "ca-clack, ca-clack, ca-clunk" of the gears slowed until the train locked into place. The coaches shuddered and a few slumbering passengers begrudgingly awoke with the movement.

Galinda, however, was still fast asleep, as she had been from the moment she had sat down in the chair and closed her eyes, many an hour ago. The bouncing motion of the carriage had not allowed her even a brief moment of peaceful slumber, but the train's gentle, smooth speed had allowed her to shut down, mercifully collected by dreamless sleep.

Fiyero had been glad for the solitude.

For an entire month, he had been like a specimen, under a very small glass jar. The many eyes that had been fixed on him were finally lifted away and the heavy weight that the attention had pressed into him, for conversation, for information, was gone. He sighed as the people around him began to move to the exits.

"Guess we'd better go," he said, reluctant to leave his seat. He wondered if anyone would even care if he stayed on for another ride. But then he realized that Galinda was not getting up; he couldn't let her stay. That would have defeated the purpose, anyway.

"Galinda, we're here," he said, rising. He touched her arm, but she did not move.

"Come on, Galinda, up…"

He put his arm around her and shimmied her from the seat. She sleepily threw her arms around him. She muttered something about another minute and then held him tightly.

"Mmm, Elphie…"

Fiyero shook his head. Even after all their time away, it seemed that neither of them had forgotten about one thing in particular.

"Galinda, stand up," he let her fall back into her seat and the impact jostled her so much that she woke up, tossing her head side to side, looking around her as though she had no idea where she was.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked, bewildered. She rubbed her eyes and Fiyero smiled; she looked so innocent, he thought.

"The whole trip," he said, pulling down the smaller bags. He would have to get a handcart for the rest.

"Oh, my head," Galinda moaned, rubbing a bruise that was sure to be developing. Fiyero winced; he hadn't meant to hurt her.

"You alright?" he asked. Galinda nodded and stood up. She looked flustered.

"Don't worry; you weren't talking in your sleep," Fiyero said with a laugh. She blushed.

"How did you know I was worried about that?"

The whistle blew, hurrying everyone along so the next batch of travelers could fill there vacant seats. Fiyero rushed to get their things together as Galinda gathered herself.

Galinda stabilized herself on her chair, looking out the wide windows, her eyes unintentionally searching. When her gaze fell upon a familiar black hat, she shivered, her dream returning to her, more real than any dream should ever be. The hat moved and the two eyes peered out, finding Galinda's.

Galinda blinked, startled, then shut her eyes fearfully. But once they were closed she was enveloped by warm arms, cold air, breath on her neck making her hair stand on end.

Galinda's eyes shot open and a shiver ran through her when she saw the black hat was nowhere in sight.

------

"Come on, Elphaba," Nessa said, shaking her head. "I want to get everything put away quickly. Boq and I are meeting for dinner."

Elphaba, thrown back into reality with that statement, laughed aloud.

"Nessa, you aren't even unpacked, and you have a date?"

Nessa ignored the comment and put more force behind her wheels. Elphaba tried to keep up, just barely hanging on to their three suitcases. She must have been a sight, balancing three large cases in front of her face, blindly following her sister. She thought herself only lucky when she made it all the way to the dorms without crashing into something or someone.

"I'll see you Wednesday, for lunch," she said, keeping Elphaba's company no longer than it took her sister to get her luggage into her room. Nessa rolled away and left Elphaba at the door, leaning against the frame, huffing noisily as she tried to slow her breath.

"Your welcome!" she shouted after her, but Nessa was already gone. Elphaba took off her hat and gripped the edge tightly.

"It's going to be just like before," she thought, miserably. Now that they were back at Shiz and she had Boq, her sister would leave her, as Nessa had always wished she could. She had no one, now.

"That's just fine," Elphaba grumbled. "I like being on my own, anyway."

Dragging her suitcase behind her, Elphaba climbed the stairs to her room. The door wasn't open yet; that was a good sign. Perhaps she could get in and out before-

"Oh, hello," some muttered behind her. Elphaba turned to see Galinda, dragging her things on a hand cart behind her. She didn't so much as looked up at Elphaba as she passed.

Elphaba stopped in her tracks, watching Galinda. A whole month apart, and that was all she had to say?

Galinda, oblivious to Elphaba's thoughts, did her best to open the door without letting go of the handcart. Her hands shook though, but Elphaba, thankfully, did not see. Galinda could already feel the beads of nervous sweat collecting on her brow; she turned her face away from Elphaba and pressed against the door. It fell open and she went inside, leaving the door slightly ajar. Elphaba took a few moments to close her open mouth and followed.

When she entered, Galinda remained silent. She didn't even turn in Elphaba's direction.

"So, how was your break?" Elphaba tried, putting her suitcase on her bed. Galinda replied with a non-committal "fine". Elphaba tried again.

"Nothing interesting? No… engagements I should know about?"

Galinda laughed, but not the playful, high laugh that made Elphaba smile, but a somber, almost cynical scoff.

"No, but my parents _loved_ Fiyero," she said. Elphaba felt her heart drop.

"I got a new carriage, too. It's coming this week. They're sending it here so I don't have to rent one if I want to go out on the weekends."

This sort of news should have been delivered the Galinda way: bouncy, happy, full of almost sickening pride and enough details to assure that the listener never even had to see it to have a crystal clear image, though she would tell everyone they just i>had /i> to come by! But it wasn't said the way Elphaba would have expected. The words were quick, precise. No unnecessary details. Not even a change in tone.

"I bought… I bought some flowers, at the Winter Festival," Elphaba said, disturbed by this new lack of enthusiasm from a young woman who, just a month or so ago, had been brimming with so much energy that it had annoyed Elphaba.

"Oh. That's nice," Galinda sighed, continuing to unpack without any further comment.

That's…nice? Elphaba shook her head. She had just mentioned flowers. FLOWERS! Galinda loved flowers! Galinda loved anything with a pretty smell! Anything with the word pretty!

"They… they reminded me of you," Elphaba said meekly. Maybe the truth would help her, for once.

"Really?"

Galinda stopped suddenly, but then continued to unpack.

"That's… that's…."

"I thought they were so similar to that perfume you like so much," Elphaba interrupted, shaking, afraid to stop speaking. She pulled out some dried flowers from her suitcase and set them at the side of her bed. Galinda stopped packing, her eyes fixed on the vase of white flowers.

"They're beautiful," she said, tears gathering in her eyes. She brushed them aside the moment Elphaba looked down at the flowers, gently cradling the dried petals between her ring and forefinger.

"They are," Elphaba said, softly. "They smell even better than they look," she took a deep inhale and closed her eyes. Galinda watched the muscles in her throat contract as Elphaba swallowed gently.

"You can have some, if you like," Elphaba said, taking a few out of the vase. She took them to Galinda's bed and set them almost reverently on her pillow before Galinda could object.

"I…uh… thank you," she managed to say. Elphaba smiled.

"Well, I guess I'd better go… I have a lot of things to do before classes tomorrow."

Galinda swallowed, saying nothing. As Elphaba went to the door, she felt words forming in the back of her throat, her vocal chords humming, readying her to open her lips and speak, but the door shut, and Elphaba was gone, her half-unpacked things strewn over her bed.

Galinda shut her eyes and shivered at the feelings that tingled over her skin. She quaked and put her arms around herself. Slowly, Galinda looked up at the flowers on her bed.

They were so pretty, so beautiful, so unlike anything Galinda would have ever expected Elphaba to appreciate or enjoy.

Hesitantly, she moved across the bed, until she was within arm's reach. She extended her hand and snatched one of the flowers up. Her hand instantly stung with the sensation of another hand on hers, a touch so gentle that Galinda could not describe it. It was as if Elphaba had left her physical impression within the stem.

Galinda sighed. It was going to be a long semester.

------

The restlessness of extended time off was often a catalyst of educational purposes. Fresh from the holidays, a lack of responsibility, and not seeing there friends, most of the students were actually on time for all of their classes, more eager to catch up with schoolmates than to resume their learning, but early just the same.

In most classes, it took a few minutes to quiet everyone down, but the curiosity that a new semester inevitably garnered over the free time helped direct the attention of the students to some degree.

"Alright, everyone," Dr. Dillamond said, looking about the room. When he found his students almost immediately complying, his resolve wavered. With a deep breath, he clacked his hooves together.

"Ms. Elphaba, where is Ms. Glinda today?"

Elphaba looked behind her towards the last row but found only Fiyero, grinning stupidly. He waved. Elphaba turned back.

"I don't know, professor," she said gently.

"No matter," Dr. Dillamond sighed. "I had simply hoped I would get to see everyone…"

Elphaba's eyes widened at that comment.

"Today," he began, raising his weak voice once more, "will be my last here at Shiz. I am… no longer permitted to teach."

Attentive as they were, it took the class a moment to fully absorb his meaning.

Elphaba, however, leapt immediately from her seat.

"Professor, you can't be serious," she said, approaching him. "They can't do that!"

"They can," he said, wearily, "and they will."

Dr. Dillamond said this without daring to look into the eyes of his favorite pupil, for fear of what he would find there. He could not chance seeing the sadness and righteous anger that so often burned in those green depths.

The class reacted slowly, a hushed voice here, a gasp of realization there, as everyone began to comprehend the consequences of their teacher's announcement. Most sat back, stunned, while some looked on the brink of tears. There were, of course, those few exceptions that shrugged and flipped through their books. That is, until the door to the classroom flew open, and two men came marching in.

The reaction was immediate: a gasp from every mouth, a scream from one. A third man entered, dressed in all gray like his cohorts, pushing a rattling cart from which an almost inaudible sound was emanating. It sounded like…crying.

The first of the men stepped forward and grabbed Dr. Dillamond gruffly by the forearm.

"Alright, _goat_… let's go."

The second joined him, roughly seizing the professor from the other side and the two began to most literally drag Dr. Dillamond from the classroom.

"Where are you taking him?" Elphaba asked, seething with anger and confusion. The men did not answer; they continued to pull Dr. Dillamond even as he struggled, calling out to the class,

"They can stop me from teaching, but they will never silence me! Don't let yourselves be deceived!" They men tugged as he tried to hold on to the door frame. "Don't forget what you've seen today! Don't let them--"

The door slammed shut.

The last man pushed his cart to the center of the room and stood erect, tipping his gray bowler hat back, revealing a gaunt face. The shadow that the brim cast only further illuminated his sallow skin and hallowed cheekbones. Elphaba's eyes narrowed at the ghastly looking stranger.

Just as she was about to say something, a hand pulled her back. She wheeled around, ready to direct her fury upon the person who would dare touch her at this moment.

She was naturally shocked to see blue eyes staring back at her.

"It's no use," Fiyero said, still holding onto her arm. His fingers pressed in as she tensed and then pulled away.

"You can't do anything about it, Elphaba! Why can't you accept that there are some things you just cannot change?"

Elphaba turned away, angry and distraught. She didn't know what to do. Was Fiyero right? Could anything she did even make a difference?

"Alright, kids, gather round, gather round," the voice of the stranger drew the class forward but Elphaba looked away, the sound of his strained voice almost painful to her.

"It's a lion cub!"

There were gasps at this and Elphaba looked up sharply.

There, on the cart the man had been pushing, was a medium-sized lion cub. Its mouth was open, a soft, mewing sound touching Elphaba's ears delicately.

"What have you done to it?" Elphaba pushed through the crowd and put her hands to the wiring around the animal. The cub continued to cry.

"It's called a cage," the man said. He then pulled a long pole from the cart and prodded the cub with it. The animal reacted by curling in tightly, cowling in the corner of the "cage".

"You're hurting it!" Elphaba said, rocking against the cart, wanting to act but not sure what to do. The man withdrew the pole with a laugh.

"He's _fine_," he said, prodding the poor creature once more for good measure. Elphaba teetered on her feet. "By keeping an animal in a cage and making him aware of my dominance, I stay in control! It's the safest way to keep an animal."

Elphaba looked back at Fiyero, whose eyes darted to the floor.

"Safe for whom?" Elphaba said, her voice a low growl, but the man ignored her.

"If kept like this from a cub, the animal also will never learn how to speak!"

Everyone gasped, some moved in closer, mouths gaping, intrigued.

"How does it work?"

"Can it move?"

"Will it grow?"

Elphaba slowly backed away as her classmates closed in. She bumped into Fiyero but simply stopped, saying nothing, horror-stricken by her classmates.

"That's barbaric," Fiyero whispered in her ear. His hands came to her shoulders, holding her steady.

"Look closer, everyone," the man said, "And observe how the cage keeps him from learning how to attack!"

There were appreciative sounds, gasps of awe, and Elphaba could no longer stand still. Fiyero could feel the prickling of Elphaba's skin beneath her clothes.

"Elphaba…"

Her body began to shake, almost to the point where she was vibrating. Then, quite suddenly, Fiyero's hands flew off, a flare of electricity throwing his arms back and almost knocking him to the ground.

"Don't do something you might regret!"

But his words went unheard, drowned out by the hum of electricity and the cries of the lion cub. Elphaba took a step forward, lifted her hands, and the students looked up too late.

Fiyero scrambled to his feet, thinking to stop her, but a surge like a bolt of lightening leapt from Elphaba, ensnaring the entire class and the stranger, sending their bodies into convulsions with the pulse of light and energy.

"Elphaba, stop it! You could kill them!"

Elphaba's arms dropped and she didn't hesitate for a moment. She darted through the crowd, not touching anyone as she went. Fiyero watched in shock as the bodies danced, invisible puppet strings making them move and jump.

Elphaba emerged from the center, the cage in her hands, a burlap sack thrown over it to protect the cub from the electrical current.

"ARE YOU INSANE?"

Elphaba pushed passed Fiyero, heading for the door.

"Where are you going to take it? You can't just run out of here and leave them all like this! Elphaba!"

Elphaba rounded on him and the stunning blend of anger, confusion, and determination in her eyes made Fiyero wilt.

"At least I'm going to do something!" she shouted. The electricity in the room surged, throttling the students. Fiyero approached her slowly, hands up.

"Careful!" he barked. "You could hurt someone!" He moved closer, slowly, shifting his feet cautiously.

"Why didn't it affect me?" he asked. Elphaba shrugged. "You were out of range," and then, frustrated, "Are you going to help me or no!"

With one look at the students, arched in pain as the electricity rushed through them, Fiyero had his answer.

"Let's go."


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: Something New

"Elphaba, slow down! Slow….DOWN!"

Elphaba stopped so suddenly that Fiyero nearly slammed into her.

"I didn't say stop!" He leaned over, panting, exhausted. He didn't know how long they had been running. As soon as they had left the building, Elphaba had set a challenging pace. For a girl who sat in her room studying all day, she was in amazing condition!

"I don't know where we are," Elphaba said quietly. She spun, looking at the sky. It was getting dark.

"Fiyero, I don't think I know where we are."

Elphaba set down the cage, watching Fiyero, a worried expression on her face.

"It's alright," Fiyero said, finally catching his breath, "I know where we are."

Leaning over the cage, peaking under the cloth, Elphaba looked dubious.

"What, you don't trust me?" Fiyero asked incredulously. A tight expression from Elphaba made him frown.

"What is it about me that you just don't like?"

He stood up, hands on his hips. Turning away from Elphaba, he tried to think about getting them back to campus instead of dwelling on Elphaba. He would waste his efforts no longer.

"Please, Fiyero, I didn't mean--"

"No, Elphaba, it's fine. I've just got to figure out which way will get us back quickest…" Fiyero eyed the stars and then turned back to Elphaba. "We may no get back for a few hours, but everyone should be out of that trance by then. They won't even know what happened to them, will they."

Elphaba looked away at the statement. Seeing her downtrodden, Fiyero did not press the issue.

"Is he okay?" he asked, stooping next to her and the cage.

Elphaba lifted aside some of the cloth and let Fiyero peer in. The cub was shaking in one corner of the cage, whimpering.

"It's alright little fella," he cooed, but the cub shivered more violently at the sound of his deep voice. Elphaba dropped the cloth and hummed sweetly to it until it calmed.

"Geez, I help save the thing and that's the gratitude I get?"

Elphaba jumped up.

"Help save him? You didn't do anything but get in my way!"

Fiyero stood toe to toe with Elphaba, using his one inch of height as best he could, but Elphaba was not to be intimidated.

"I came with you didn't I?" he said. "I'm going to get us back."

Elphaba stepped back, feeling foolish for fighting with the only ally she had at the moment. She picked up the corner of the cage's cover and put her finger inside. The gentle mewing sound told Fiyero the cub was probably letting her pet it.

"I can't just leave him in the wild…"

Fiyero put a hand to his jaw and thought for a moment. Elphaba looked almost heart broken, thinking that she couldn't help the cub anymore than she had. Fiyero sighed.

"I'll take him to my Uncle."

"You're Uncle?" Elphaba repeated. "Fiyero, we don't have the time to travel, we have to back for classes by morning--"

"It's alright," Fiyero said, picking up the cage. The cub wailed in the absence of Elphaba.

"Be careful!"

Fiyero gently rocked the cage and lowered it to Elphaba, who put her hand back under the cloth. The cub calmed.

"I've never been one to show up on time anyway. I'll bring it to the train station; I have some favors I can call in. The cub will get to my Uncle and he can take him to the East."

He had Elphaba's interest.

"The East…"

Fiyero nodded. Elphaba looked at him, the eagerness in his eyes shining like the stars that were beginning to appear overhead. She swallowed gently.

"Fiyero, why are you doing this? I thought you only cared about yourself…and Galinda…"

"Hey, it's true," he said, "I am deeply shallow."

Elphaba snickered and Fiyero smiled brightly. He couldn't help but think that maybe he was getting somewhere with the good guy routine.

"He'll be taken care of," he said, patting the cage softly. In the motion, he inadvertently covered Elphaba's hand with his. "Just head to the East," he said, noticing the color in Elphaba's cheeks. Was that deep purple her version of a blush?

"You'll be at Shiz by morning," Fiyero removed his hand gently. Elphaba slowly, reluctantly, removed her hands, to minimal distress of the cub and herself.

"Be careful with him," she said softly. Fiyero nodded and turned to the south east, heading for the Shiz train station.

Elphaba watched him go, touching her hand gently. She felt a strange twinge in her that she had only felt one other time. It was weak, yes, but it was there.

She pushed her hat down on her head and ran in the direction of Shiz.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen: When the Choice is made for you.

Fiyero tried to sleep. In fact, he'd been trying to sleep for days, but his eyes barely shut for more than a brief moment.

Those few hours kept playing before his eyes as he tried to glean new details from the surface of his memory: how the branches rustled in the wind, the crunch of leaves underfoot, the feeling of the frigid air on his exposed skin, the white light of the moon fighting to get in through the dense tree-top roof. Most of all, though, he tried to recall a quiver against the palm of his hand, a brief flicker of a smile, an almost indiscernible color in green cheeks. He tried to remember everything about _her_.

Who would have thought walking off my hangovers in the woods would turn out like this! Fiyero thought, laughing inwardly. The next time Galinda chastised him for drinking, he'd remind her that everything has its purpose.

Galinda.

Fiyero sighed. What was he to do about her?

"Let it go," he heard himself say, "She's happier without you thinking."

"Now Elphaba…."

He sighed. Saying her name was more natural than breathing. He shut his eyes and tried to picture her, standing in that small clearing, her eyes so bright he could have mistaken them for emeralds. Even with leaves in her hair, scratches and dirt on her face, she looked exquisite. It had been the first time he had seen the real Elphaba: strong, but afraid, hard, but beautiful. And so passionate! Who else would have done what she did for a cub she didn't even know? He simply could not understand why no one else saw that emerald in the rough the way he did.

But that entire night had been one of firsts, for the both of them. He knew that he had seen something in Elphaba that night. He had felt it, with his very own hands.

He sighed and rested his hand on his chest, eyes shut tight, trying to summon the ghosts of that brief touch just one more time before sunrise so that he might dream of it before the morning called him back to the real world.

------

History class gathered slowly, almost reverently, the students saying nary a word. Silence. It was the only way they could accept their new circumstances, this new teacher who every day wore the same grey suit and hat he had worn the first time they had seen him, who spoke in a voice as rattling as the cart he pushed. They took notes in silence, took tests without complaint, and did their best to ignore the gnawing feeling in the pit of their stomachs that told them there was something amiss.

There was one student in particular who was undoubtedly the quietest of them all. She never raised her hand or participated in the now infrequent class discussions. In fact, she didn't speak at all.

This, of course, was due to the fact that Elphaba no longer attended the class.

Elphaba let out a long, slow breath and pulled her knees further in to her chest. An unprepared for breeze rushed between her legs and she pushed the fluttering fabric of her skirt between her knees and held it there, pressing one side of her face into her thigh. Her loose hair covered her exposed cheek as it floated in the wind, looking as though she were under water instead of sitting on the side walk in the cold, trying to close herself into a tight ball of black cloth and hair.

It was three weeks to the day since Dr. Dillamond's sudden expulsion from Shiz, almost to the hour. Elphaba had taken to sitting on the sidewalk during the class time, facing the woods she and Fiyero had fled into that day with mixed feelings of longing and trepidation. She wanted to go back to before, before these difficult thoughts laid so literally before her.

And yet…

Elphaba shuddered, recalling some things that were better left forgotten. She would bury those feelings as she had all thoughts of Galinda. And she would survive.

Elphaba shifted on the cold ground. As she watched the trees, swaying beneath the whim of the wind, the breeze clung to Elphaba the way winter clung to the land. It would hold on as long as it could, but the seasons would change, as they always do, winter passing into spring.

But as Elphaba gazed into her thoughts through the aching branches of the forest, she was unaware of this. The only thing she noticed was the sudden movement among the trees.

Quickly, so as not to be seen, Elphaba leapt up and dashed to the left, hoping to hide herself in the trees before whoever was approaching broke out into the open. Just as she had positioned herself behind a giant of an oak, the movement slowed and became sound, the sound narrowed to voices, the voices bodies, faces.

"Fiyero, _why_ is it you like that that dark, damp, dirty forest so much? My shoes are all… _ickified_."

Galinda lifted her shoes with a grimace.

"Oh… I _liked _these shoes…"

Elphaba threw herself fully behind the tree, a hand clasped firmly over her mouth.

Of all the students in Shiz--all the people in Oz!--Elphaba thought, it had to be them.

Fiyero was leaning against a tree, his eyes shut gently. Elphaba had only glimpsed him as a thin tree blocked much of her view.

"The weather is just _perfect_ for a romantic walk, honey dew," Elphaba heard him say. She felt heat rise in her face.

There was the light sound of Galinda giggling and then silence. Elphaba panicked, thinking they had heard her movement. She chanced a second look, slowly moving only her upper torso. The dry leaves at her feet would have announced her presence no worse than a barking hound.

What she saw made that strange electric current surge through her once more.

There was a sudden, thundering crack in the sky and Galinda jumped back from Fiyero.

"Oh no, now rain?"

Elphaba felt her pulse slow and she immediately felt ashamed of herself for not being in control of her powers. The sight of Galinda, though, afraid, made all other thoughts vanish.

"We should get back," she said, approaching Fiyero again. Elphaba could feel her heart speed up.

"Yeah, don't want to mess up your hair," Fiyero deadpanned. Galinda gasped.

"You're right! We have to run!"

Elphaba laughed in spite of herself and had to curb the sound as quickly as it bubbled up from inside her.

Galinda reached for Fiyero's hand and he let himself be pulled forward, eyes shut, looking as though he were remembering something pleasant. When she let go, he let himself fall back into the tree.

"Fiyero?"

The almost fragile quality to Galinda's voice surprised both Elphaba and Fiyero, though neither would have admitted to the effect. Fiyero's eyes flicked open and Elphaba rolled to her left so she could see Galinda.

She was watching Fiyero as though he were very far away rather than just a few feet from her. Her hand lingered in the air, waiting for him to take it. Her bottom lipped trembled so; Elphaba wanted to reach up and brush it gently until she smiled again.

Fiyero pushed off the tree and took Galinda's hand, coming into Elphaba's line of sight. He looked almost as though he felt… _guilty_. For what, Elphaba didn't bother to think.

He squeezed Galinda's hand and said nothing, but his eyes told much. Galinda bit her lower lip and turned away.

Fiyero might not have seen it, but Elphaba had. From her spot behind the tree, Elphaba had seen the single, silent tear fall to the cold ground. She knew that, when Galinda reached up to wipe her face, she wasn't fixing her hair as Elphaba knew Fiyero would assume.

The moment tore away from its slow pace and Elphaba was left, watching their backs, utterly lost to describe what she felt.

As soon as Galinda and Fiyero disappeared through the forest's edge, Elphaba slumped to the ground, head in her hands. Her fingers parted and she stared at the cold earth through a blur of tears, the dampness running around her fingers like tiny streams navigating her face. She dropped her arms and leaned against the tree, rocking her head against it until the thrumming, soft pain could keep what she was feeling at bay along the borders of her consciousness.

For a moment, she just sat there, staring up through the breaks in the trees like a forlorn captive about to face the guillotine. It seemed that she had no where to run, but if she faced what she was feeling, there was nothing she could do! If she didn't understand what she felt, how was she ever going to change it?

Elphaba jumped up; she couldn't sit there beneath the weight of her thoughts in a place that fostered certain memories that Elphaba preferred to avoid. She set off in the direction opposite of the dormitory, hoping that taking the long way back would help her stamp out her thoughts beneath her swift-moving feet.

The wind licked at Elphaba like cold fire the moment she was out of the tree, permeating her clothes despite efforts to cocoon herself against the weather.

Let it come, she thought, loosening her cloak. She welcomed the numbness she hoped the cold would bring.

But, even as her cloak fluttered around her like so many wings of flying bats, she felt not the chill she had expected, but the warmth of a somehow familiar body against her chest, the sensation of shivering arms beneath her own. Elphaba shut her eyes and slowed to a stop. She could i>feel /i> someone, so truly that she could not fight the need to feel it more fully. Elphaba opened her arms slowly and could feel the pressure of another body against her own. She took a deep, needful breath and could detect the familiar scent of soft, pale skin.

You can't be her.

Elphaba's eyes shot open, the low voice so real that she thought the words had been spoken aloud.

"I don't want to be her!" she shouted back, the wind taking her words and scattering them into the darkening sky. Elphaba could feel the pulse of the air in her veins. She didn't know who she was speaking to, but they were responding, deep within her.

You can't be him, either.

Elphaba's almost serene moment was slowly being thrown aside with the thoughts the voice was provoking in her.

"I know this! Why are you telling me what I already know?"

The voice was silent for a moment and Elphaba felt stronger in that moment, somehow buoyed by catching them off guard. But then she heard it again, deep and dark, saddened to deliver its message.

Because if you want her, you have to be him.

"And I can never be him."

Elphaba felt the rising wind around her suddenly slow and fall like a petal falling from a tree. And she fell with it.

"I can't be him."

Sitting on the cold ground, Elphaba pulled her cloak in on herself. The fabric was resistant and flew up around her, creating a tunnel of black as her hair shot up with it. She felt her tears being pulled away, stolen from her eyes and tossed into the raging wind that was wrapped so tightly around her. The roar of the air pressed in on her, making it hard to breath. Elphaba could feel her heart beat in her ears, pounding so loudly she thought it would burst. She cried out, screaming as she never had before.

And then, quite suddenly, it stopped.

The wind, her cloak, her thoughts, they all stopped.

And the rain began.

Elphaba felt the smallest of droplets hit her cheek and she looked up, her reddened eyes barely perceiving the skies opening above her as she wiped away the tear-like drop. Her body, an empty shell of a form, reacted for her, not feeling the need to ask her permission to leap from the ground and dash the hundred feet to the protection of a low bridge. She sank beneath it and listened to the storm that so suddenly fell upon Shiz like a waterfall had materialized overhead. The voice did not rise over the pounding of the rain, though. And Elphaba knew why. The words were her own.

If you wanted him…

"But I don't," she said, suddenly and surely. "I'm not that girl."

Elphaba put one leg over the other and let herself rest in the truth. She knew who, and what, she wanted. But she knew she could not have it. It was not the first time she had been taunted with what she desired and she was sure it would not be the last. Burgeoned by this thought, Elphaba thought she felt herself beginning to fill.

The voice, it seemed, was abated by her acceptance and was content to leave her alone for a moment. But then, through the rain, Elphaba thought she heard her name.

"I know he wants me," she said, thinking this would stop the voice again, "but I don't want him."

"Elphaba…"

"I know, I know! I can't be Galinda! I can't be Fiyero! What more do you want from me!"

"I want you to get out from under that bridge and to your dorm!"

Elphaba turned suddenly to see Madame Morrible, standing in the rain, an umbrella of obscene proportions over her head.

"You'll catch a cold, out in the rain like this! And you won't be able to see the Wizard next week!"

"I know, Madame Morrible, I'm sorry," she said, getting up and brushing herself off, "but I--"

Elphaba's mouth snapped shut. Madame Morrible grinned widely.

"Did you just--"

"Yes, yes," Madame Morrible said, not waiting for Elphaba to come to a full realization before producing an envelope from the many folds of her dress and forcing it into Elphaba's dirty hands. Elphaba flipped it over and was halted by the deep green seal that was the mark of the Wizard: a wide, round "O".

"This is… this is from the Wizard!" Elphaba said, hands shaking. She surveyed the quality parchment with awe as Madame Morrible waited impatiently.

"Well?" she said, "Open it!"

Elphaba looked embarrassed by her childish amazement but was able to control herself long enough to tear open the envelope and hurriedly read the contents of a letter, scrawled in slanted, small handwriting:

_Dear Ms. Elphaba,_

_Madame Morrible, your headmistress, has informed me that you are a girl that would be of great interest to me. As the Wizard of Oz who receives many such letters daily, I take all such tales with a grain of salt. News of your progression, however, has me wanting to see for my own eyes what you are capable of. _

_Please take the enclosed ticket and come visit me at the Emerald City next week. _

_I look forward to meeting the future Magic Grand Vizier of Oz!_

_Most Sinceriedly,_

_The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_

Elphaba's trembling fingers fumbled with the envelope until she found the ticket. It was pressed with that same green seal as the letter.

"He wants to meet me?"

Elphaba turned sharply to the headmistress.

"But, how did you know?"

Madame Morrible produced another letter, with the same look of Elphaba's own and waved it, a knowing smile on her face.

"You should inform all of your teachers," she said, then, swinging her umbrella downward, "This weather is just terrible! And so sudden! If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought it was my own work!"

Elphaba blushed guiltily, but the headmistress did not see. She was busy rolling back her sleeves.

Elphaba watched Madame Morrible work, always fascinated by her instant control and concentration. Her hands came up slowly, her eyes shut up until the exact moment her fingers reached their peak.

With a great movement that rushed from her feet to her fingers, Madame Morrible thrust her hands outward and the rain seemed to sputter like a faucet being switched on and off. The rain gave one, final effort before it stopped altogether and the sun parted the dark, thick clouds.

Madame Morrible turned to Elphaba with a smile.

"Can't have the future Magic Grand Vizier catching a cold now, can we?"

Elphaba shook her head, still a little stunned by the display of power. She would never cease to be amazed by Madame Morrible's ability, despite her odd outward appearance. In truth, the headmistress gave Elphaba hope that she, too, would one day be powerful and respected in her own right.

"Well?" Madame Morrible said, hands to her large hips. "Get going!"

Elphaba rushed off, the letter buried under her arm.

You are Elphaba, the voice said as she ran, and you don't need anyone else.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: All She Sees

The air wafted through the window like a soft breath, lifting the curtains softly with each exhale. A cold breeze, a stark contrast to the warming weather, slithered into the room and wrapped itself around the girl sitting on her bed, head in her hands, her feet dangling over the side.

Galinda seriously contemplated shutting the window, but she found that she could not move at the present. Her imagination was getting the better of her, making her hear a voice on the cold wind that was not there, somehow detect the scent of skin that she knew could not be real. She was beginning to think that she was going mad.

This is _her_ fault, a voice said to her. Galinda shook her head, fervently denying the charge.

"I can't blame Elphie!" she whimpered.

Galinda swung her legs onto the bed and faced her closet door, trying to ignore the little voice.

If she had just stayed away, you and Fiyero would have been happy together.

Galinda bit her lower lip. Would they have? She rested her chin on her knees and thought for a moment.

"No," she said, resolutely. They wouldn't have been any better off without Elphie. Today had been the first time since they'd gotten back to Shiz that he had spent more than ten minutes with her and yet, here she was, bewildered by her sadness, not excited to just have romped through the woods with her 'sweetheart'.

With or without Elphaba, Galinda was in trouble.

She and Fiyero were drifting apart.

"Oh, Elphie," Galinda murmured, tears falling down her thighs and rolling over her knees. The cold air rushed through the window again, making the lines of tears sting like icy streams on her skin. She shivered at the sensation of the breeze on her back, over her neck, so much like a cold breath.

Galinda cried out, a high-pitched sound cutting the silence. One could have heard it even from outside the door.

And as someone was standing in the middle of the living room, more breathless at the sound of Galinda's cry than she had been running across the campus, someone most certainly did hear it.

"Galinda?"

At the saying of her name, Galinda oriented towards the sound, but the tears blurred her vision; she saw only the blur of a figure in front of the door.

"Who…who's there?" she said, fear a tremble in her voice. Galinda brushed the hair out of her face and scooted back until her spine was ramrod against the wall. She squinted in the dim twilight grey.

Elphaba was frozen at the door, watching like a cornered animal that knew it had just woken the beast. Though, as she surveyed the curls strewn across Galinda's face, mingled with the tears of her reddened eyes, Elphaba had to wonder just who was the savage.

"It's just me," Elphaba said finally. She went straight for her closet, trying not to think about the pain that had paralyzed her at the sight of Galinda crying.

"What are you doing here?" Galinda asked, biting her tongue as soon as the words came out. Is that all you can say to her? the voice asked.

"I am allowed in my own room," Elphaba said, sounding almost bitter. But there was a shaky quality to her voice that she was sure Galinda could not miss.

Galinda's lower lip trembled at the sharp tone, more tears pouring over her cheeks, unseen by the now green eyes searching through the closet. She sniffled, not at all trying to cover up the sounds of her crying.

If she won't even talk to you when you're sitting here in tears like such a pathetic little thing, then she is a waste of your time!

Galinda bit her lip fiercely, hoping to chase the voice away with pain. But then she noticed that Elphaba was pulling down her suitcase; both she and the voice were silent.

"You… you're not _leaving_, are you?"

Wonderful! the voice proclaimed. Galinda shushed it.

Elphaba, crouched low, shuddered at the weakness in Galinda's voice.

What does she care? Elphaba's voice asked. She only cares about Fiyero. And you should only worry about yourself.

But the soft, fragile voice of Galinda crept into Elphaba's ear, somehow stronger than the voice that told her not to listen.

"Elphie?"

Galinda had slid off of the bed to kneel beside Elphaba. In her peripheral vision, Elphaba could see a slim hand touch the dress she had just laid atop the rest of her clothing.

"I'm going to the Emerald City," Elphaba said suddenly, watching the hand as though it were a dangerous spider waiting to strike. But of course, it don't not leap and end her life as she had hoped, but, instead, it slipped off of the dress to cover Galinda's gaping mouth.

"Oh, Elphie, that's wonderful news!"

But, as Elphaba found when she turned to look up at the hand, Galinda could not have thought it anything near wonderful.

There she is, sobbing like a fool, and still she will not speak to you, the voice said. Elphaba wanted to stop the voice, to shake it from her head, but she could not. She stared at Galinda, breathing raggedly, tears everywhere, and she once again could not deny what the voice said.

You should trust your instincts. She doesn't care about you.

But, Elphaba realized, her instincts told her otherwise.

"Galinda, come with me."

Galinda's eyes flared from green to blue again for a brief moment, but Elphaba did not notice the color of her irises. She was more worried about the translucent droplets that would not stop falling from them.

"I've always wanted to see the Emerald City," Galinda admitted, looking away sheepishly. The voice, rather confused, had nothing to contribute.

"Come with me," Elphaba repeated, her face hopeful. She just wanted Galinda to stop crying and every other thought was thrust forcibly from her mind.

But Galinda wouldn't stop crying. In fact, she had yet to remove her hand from her mouth, as though her fingers were a dam holding back the river. Elphaba reached out tentatively and almost touched Galinda's hand. Galinda turned slowly to face Elphaba and her pale green eyes shocked Elphaba. Had she never noticed that color before?

No, the voice said. Because you've never seen her cry like this before.

Elphaba swallowed and turned away guiltily, though trying not to think about why Galinda was crying or why she had never before been there when Galinda was this shaken. All Elphaba wanted to do was hold her until whatever was making Galinda so upset was forgotten.

Perhaps if Elphaba had known whose doing those tears were, she wouldn't have done just that.

"Oh, Elphie!" Galinda sobbed into Elphaba's chest the moment she was pulled in by two, strong arms. She cried harder and longer than she thought possible into the dark fabric of Elphaba's cloak until it became so soaked with her tears that Elphaba had to throw it aside. Gingerly, Elphaba slipped her arms beneath Galinda and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, Galinda," she said, leading her distraught roommate to her pink bed, but Galinda pushed Elphaba softly in the opposite direction. For a moment Elphaba resisted, but then she realized what Galinda wanted and she acquiesced.

As soon as she lay on Elphaba's bed, Galinda noticeably relaxed. She rubbed her cheek against the rough cover and took a deep breathe of that familiar, acidic scent and felt wonderfully at peace enveloped by the citric aroma. The only thing missing was a certain warm body.

Galinda reached blindly behind her for Elphaba and her roommate slid over her to the other half of the bed. Elphaba let herself be moved like a puppet with no strings, allowing Galinda to arrange her body as she liked in order to rest in the crook of Elphaba's arm and nuzzle into the soft pillow of her chest.

Galinda sniffled, her sobs reduced to infrequent shudders. Her eyes fluttered shut and Elphaba gently looped her arm around Galinda, securely holding her to her chest.

She thought to ask Galinda what in the world was going on, but she knew better. Galinda would just start to cry again and Elphaba's mind rebelled at that thought and pushed her far away from any action that would cause Galinda further pain.

But what are you doing here? The voice asked, trying to regain some control. Was it not a moment ago that you realized you did not need her?

Elphaba sighed. She was tired of listening to the voice.

Instead, Elphaba gently stroked Galinda's hair with one hand as the quivering girl slowly settled down. Galinda's eyes open gently. She wiped the drying tears from her cold cheeks and she watched Elphaba, whose eyes seemed to be focused loosely in the distance.

"I'm sorry," Galinda said, startling Elphaba. Elphaba looked down at Galinda and smiled serenely. "It's alright," she whispered, but Galinda was persistent.

"No, Elphie, I mean it," she said, pushing further into Elphaba, her fingers held gently to her lips as though to keep back any unsure words. "I'm sorry about… i>everything /i>. I know that I did something to make you mad before the break and… whatever I did, Elphaba, I didn't mean for it to turn out... the way it did..."

Elphaba stopped brushing Galinda's hair, feeling her heart being squeezed and tears, held at bay, waited from something more to be said.

"It's not your fault, Galinda," Elphaba responded, resuming the gentle touch that Galinda found so pleasant. Elphaba bit her lip to stop any tears. "It was just my… foolishness," she said, more to herself than to Galinda.

Galinda stared down at the bed, thinking. Her mussed curls fell in her face and she brushed them back. Finally, she looked up at Elphaba, a hopeful smile on her face.

"Then we… we're friends again?"

Galinda waited, breathing low and silently as though any sound would affect Elphaba's decision. If a friend was all she could get, it would be enough. She had to have Elphaba back in her life, in whatever capacity.

While Galinda resigned herself to never quite having the one thing she really wanted, Elphaba was fighting with her voice.

She'll never be yours.

You don't know that.

Her boyfriend is in love with you!

I don't love him!

You'll never be happy.

Elphaba stopped at this thought. Had she ever been happy? Once, yes, she admitted, when she had first come to Shiz. Not completely, no, but almost.

She could be that way again.

Galinda searched Elphaba's face, curiosity furrowing her brow. When Elphaba finally looked down, she laughed at the very large emotions amassed on that small, round face.

"Of course we're friends, Galinda," she said, sounding as happy as she could have at that moment. "When did we ever stop?"

Galinda smiled from little ear to little ear and settled back into Elphaba's chest, much of her worry no longer troubling her. She had her Elphie back and that was all that mattered.

Elphaba, however, was staring at the ceiling, the voice still intruding upon her thoughts.

What have you gotten yourself into now? She'll only hurt you again, you wait.

Oh, shut up, Elphaba said to the voice. She looked down at Galinda, sleeping soundly, and her expression softened. She was sure that something so beautiful could never hurt her, at least not intentionally.

Elphaba stared up at the ceiling tiles, enjoying the growing warmth of Galinda's body against hers, and the voice was silent. But there was another sound.

Was that… was that _snoring_?

Elphaba looked down again and yes, indeed, Galinda had fallen asleep, right on Elphaba's chest, exhausted. Elphaba laughed softly to herself and gingerly repositioned Galinda so that she didn't cut off the blood flow in her arm and then settled in herself for she had no doubt that Galinda was done for the night.

She watched Galinda sleeping, felt the tingle of her warm breath through her sweater. But there was a sudden chill in the room that refocused Elphaba's attention.

Elphaba reached up her hand and concentrated for a long moment. Elphaba's arm shook with silent effort until, finally, the cold breeze was locked out by the closing window.

She laid her left hand back down on Galinda's head and cradled the small of her back with her right, gently embracing her as intimately as she dared.

"Good night, Galinda," she whispered. Though she knew Galinda was a sleep, she could coax nothing more from her lips than this sweet goodnight. She could only hope that her voice would seep into Galinda's dreams and warm them with all that was in her heart that she would not speak in words. Soon, Elphaba too felt the quiet call of sleep.

And in the darkness, alone and unbeknownst to the world, they slept, believing that the worst of their troubles were over.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen: The Necessity of Taking

It brings, it takes, it changes. The Shize University train station was a masked Mecca, the literal port of Shiz. Peoples of all sizes, shapes, and origins passed through that station, and those who stepped down from the rumbling coaches, their senses too befuddled by the flurry of travelers, never took note of the immense changes in their own track that they were making. Just the decision of going or staying was truly a decision to be pondered.

It was no wonder, then, given the immensity of the decision, that Galinda was utterly bewildered by the bustling train station that she had before passed through, handbag dangling from her gloved-hand, without so much as a thought.

"Galinda?"

Elphaba waved her hand in front of the stoic face. Galinda's eyes were glistening, they had been open so long, staring at the train they were to board as though it were some sort of monster.

Elphaba made one last attempt to awaken Galinda from her trance and failed. She shook her head, laughing dryly, when she suddenly heard a voice calling her name.

What now? she thought. She tried to shake the voice away, but it only grew louder.

"What?" Elphaba said aloud to herself. She felt a tug on her arm.

"Elphaba, if you are going to ignore me, then why did I come to see you off?"

She turned sharply and, when she looked downward, she threw herself into Nessa's arms, covering her embarrassment and happiness with Nessa's blouse

Elphaba sat up. "I thought you would never come, what with being so busy with Boq…"

Her eyes came upward and they followed the retreating figure of a certain Munchkin, disappearing into the crowd.

"Was that Boq?" Her brow furrowed in confusion.

Nessa turned her chair around and searched for him, but he was already gone.

"Well, that was rude!" Elphaba laughed it off, but Nessa looked downcast. Elphaba, not worried about the human statue eavesdropping, addressed her plainly.

"Ness, is something wrong with you two?"

Nessarose looked up at her sister sheepishly. Her eyes darted away the second Elphaba's emerald gaze attempted to peer through her.

"No," she said sharply. "There's nothing wrong with _him_."

Elphaba noted the emphasis and took a step towards her sister.

"Nessa…"

Her hand hung in the air as Nessa backed away.

"No, Elphaba, don't. There's nothing wrong with him," she said again. She looked up suddenly into Elphaba's eyes and her sister was taken aback by what she found there.

"It's me, Elphaba," she said, ruefully, turning away. "There's something wrong with i>me /i>."

Nessa headed off in the same direction as Boq without so much as a 'goodbye'.

"Nessa…"

Elphaba's hand, suspended in the air, fell gently to her side. She had supposed, when she first saw her, that Nessa's farewell would make her feel much better about going, but now she was only more troubled. She didn't like it when she didn't know what was going on.

Elphaba was fully prepared to launch herself into full-blown wallowing when there was a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, nice to see you moving," she said, turning to the person she thought was there.

"Moving? When did I stop moving?" As Fiyero backed off of Elphaba, he quirked a brow at Galinda in hopes of getting an explanation, but none came.

Elphaba blushed, confused. Galinda wasn't looking at either of them.

"What's going on?" he asked, backing away. He narrowed his eyes, watching the two of them. "Are you two up to something?"

Suddenly, Galinda burst to life. She laughed, throwing her head back theatrically, and came to lay a hand on Fiyero's right tricep

"Oh, Fiyero, don't be silly," she laughed a slow 'heh, heh, heh'. "We didn't expect you," she changed the subject so well that Elphaba knew Fiyero hadn't sensed a thing.

"I… just wanted to make sure that Elphaba remembered to talk to the Wizard about Doctor Dillamond."

Both Galinda and Elphaba's eyes widened a bit. Elphaba regarded Fiyero suspiciously for a moment, but she knew, as soon as he looked her in the eyes, that he meant what he said, that he was concerned. She just had to check. She didn't know why she couldn't just believe him.

Fiyero gave Elphaba a look as though to say 'Don't you believe me?' and patted Galinda's arm.

"Forget?" Galinda laughed again, brining them all back from that uncomfortable moment. "How could she forget? We've only been talking about it all morning. I was telling her just how… _terrible_ I thought it all was."

Elphaba had to catch the bottom of her jaw. Galinda hadn't said a word to her since the night before!

"Really?" Fiyero looked to Elphaba for confirmation and Galinda shot her a look that would have set water aflame.

"Oh, yes, absolutely," she said, her voice strained. "Couldn't shut her up."

Fiyero turned back to Galinda with a pleasantly surprised smile.

"Galinda, I didn't know you cared so much about the old Professor! Didn't you say yourself that he couldn't even get your name right?"

Galinda was momentarily at a loss. She reached for Elphaba, but she shook her head so fervently she had to stop her hat from falling off.

Oh, no you don't, her eyes said to Galinda. Don't drag me into this.

"Well… well..." Galinda sputtered, "Well, I don't think he was so bad! In fact, in honor of his cause, I'm changing my name to his pronunciation: 'Glinda'!"

Both Fiyero and Elphaba eyed Galinda dubiously. Realizing what she had said, Galinda's face went red. She couldn't back out of it, but what in the world had she been thinking?

Elphaba hid a snicker behind her hand, but Galinda spun on her three-inch heels.

"You think it's funny? Well, you better learn to like it, Elphaba, because I won't answer to GUH-linda anymore!"

Behind her, Fiyero was staring in shock. This, of course, only made Elphaba laugh harder.

"Look, it's very… ah... noble of you, Ga—I mean, Glinda," he said, trying not to laugh, "But I really have to go. Class and all…"

Elphaba looked to Fiyero, now certainly unbelieving, and he gave her a queer little smile in return. What was he thinking?

"Goodbye, sweetie-kins," the newly crowned Glinda cooed, kissing Fiyero on the cheek many times before he pulled away.

"Have a good trip," he said, hugging her with one arm. As soon as he was free, he offered his arms to Elphaba. She hesitated, but Glinda smiled brightly and motioned for her to go on already. When he had his arms around her and Glinda was away, getting her many bags ready, he whispered quickly into Elphaba's ear, much to her dismay.

"The cub is fine," he said, "thriving on a farm near my Uncle's home. I think about that night a lot, Elphaba." He pulled away from her as Glinda returned, tugging her hand cart, looking comically small next to her many bags.

"Are we going for a week or a year?" Elphaba couldn't help saying, despite the worrisome thoughts in her head. Glinda laughed at her and tried to grab for Fiyero again, but he was too far away and his eyes were not to her.

"I hope you haven't forgotten," he said. Glinda watched him go, and, the moment he was out of hearing range, Glinda tried to question Elphaba, but a green hand blocked her words.

"He just wanted to make sure I talk to the Wizard about everything," she said, inwardly surprised by her own quickness to lie. What was she trying to cover up, anyway? Nothing worth hiding had happened between them, that night or any other night, for that matter.

Then how could she explanation the worry in the pit of her stomach as Glinda watched her?

"Elphie, if something's going on, you'd tell me, right?"

Elphaba felt the fear mix in with the worry.

"Fiyero has been… so odd lately and I just can't figure him out! He's been aloof… cold… and he's been thinking!"

Even Elphaba had to admit that was a frightening thought when taking into account who they were discussing. Fiyero wasn't one to think unless absolutely necessary, and even then he avoided it at all costs.

"Don't concern yourself with him, Galinda, there are plenty of fish in the sea," Elphaba said, putting her hands on either side of Glinda. She tensed and Elphaba backed away immediately, shocked by her own boldness.

Galinda, facing away from Elphaba, searched her thoughts quickly, wondering what in the world she was going to do. She had Elphaba back, now what? She was her friend, right? Couldn't she tell her about all the worries running through her about Fiyero? About herself?

Glinda spun and Galinda appeared quite plainly again.

"I don't want just _any_ fish," Galinda said. She stood straight and pointed into the space where Fiyero had been. "I want him!"

She pouted, tears in her eyes, and pressed her skirt down. "And don't call me Galinda."

She turned back to the train and Elphaba was left to push the cart alone. She followed slowly, knowing what a mistake she had made. Now, she was going to be thrown into this mess of Galinda and Fiyero.

Once again, she was entranced and bewildered by the enigma that was "Guh-linda".


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: Before the Storm

"Elphaba, I wanted to tell you that... well, it didn't come out at all how I had planned, you know, at the train station. In fact, I had meant to tell you something... very, very important, or, at least it's important to me and...and...

"Oh, fiddlesticks!"

Galinda threw her hair brush at the pale white wall and pouted, her little legs swinging over the edge of the matching sink. She pouted further into the mirror, its reflection in the meager light almost smoky, her eyes looking strangely dark in the reflected image.

"Everything alright in there? Or did your hair finally take on a life of its own and attack you?"

Galinda glared through the mirror at the face peering through the door and leapt off of the sink just before Elphaba poked her head inside the matchbox bathroom.

"What's wrong?" Elphaba asked, looking genuine in her concern, but still with a slight smile on her face. Galinda huffed and turned around to retrieve the brush.

"I've got a lot of work to do today, Galinda--"

"GLINDA."

"–Glinda, and I don't want to have to worry about you while I'm practicing."

Elphaba slipped inside, her black boots pounding the tile flooring, and touched a gentle hand to Galinda's arm.

"Is something wrong?"

Galinda shrugged, rocking away from Elphaba, but then smiled, her cheeks rising and warming in color.

"We've been in the Emerald City for three days; how could anything be wrong?"

Elphaba gave her a light smile, but Galinda could see her roommate was still less than convinced.

"Oh, I'm fine, silly. Go on, Elphie, you've got magic to do." She ushered Elphaba out of the tiny room.

"Good," Elphaba said, "I'll be able to work much better knowing you're alright."

Galinda blushed at the thought of Elphaba worrying about her. She'd never had someone so genuinely concerned before, beyond her parents. She grinned a small little smile at that thought.

"Out!" she said with a laugh, suddenly aware of Elphaba staring at her, and Elphaba slipped out.

"Make sure you're home by seven," she said over her back as she left. "We'll have dinner."

Galinda returned to brushing her hair and Elphaba lingered for just a moment longer, watching "Glinda" brush her hair through the small gap in the door, attentive for any signs of change in her, but there were none. Elphaba turned away with a bemused grin, ready to do her day's practice.

Only when she was sure Elphaba was no longer watching did Galinda allow herself a little squeal of happiness.

------

The Emerald City.

Home to hundreds of shops, stores, and boutiques, all offering diverse wears from hairpins to shoes to freshly dried tea leaves, services from massages to tailoring to personal shopping consultation, and sites unimaginable to those who had never before seen the wonders of the green oasis. There were restaurants of every style, flavor, and region, clubs and dance halls of varying popularity and patronage, and roads paved in gold and silver.

Galinda was in her glory.

Strolling down Something or Other Street by Something Else Lane, Galinda was the picture of happiness. Ever since she and Elphaba had arrived, she hand sunken her pearly white teeth into the city like a pink princess of the urban jungle. She was an Emerald City girl without ever having been there before.

Elphaba, of course, had taken in little of the city, as she had been working very hard on the spells and magic she was going to show the Wizard. Galinda doubted very much that they would see anything of the city together, even for one short day. She had tried to convince Elphaba that she would benefit from some leisure time, but to no avail.

Not to say that Galinda wasn't enjoying her new found freedom.

Had it not been mere days ago that it had felt like her world was crashing down upon her tidy little curls? Yet, here she was, all but glowing as she swung her latest purchases from her dainty little arms.

"Will you be meeting Ms. Elphaba in the park, Miss Glinda?"

Galinda smiled and nodded at the older man driving the carriage beside her. Somehow, none of the traffic complained about his riding just beside her. In fact, Galinda wasn't sure there was any real traffic at all. The streets seemed to magically have enough space for everyone.

The sidewalks, too, though stuffed to the brim with people, seemed to open up before her pointed pink shoes.

And her driver had quickly learned what Galinda liked, what she liked to be called, and where she liked to go, making everything easier for her. He was much older than her father, more like a grandfather, and (having not had the experience of having a grandfather or grandmother) Galinda instantly warmed to his almost filial congeniality.

"Alright then," he said, his thin face quivering with a bit of a smile. "Then you'd better have lunch soon, I'm afraid, if you want to be on time. Where shall it be today?"

The carriage slowed to a stop beside her and Galinda smiled at the many a passerby who paused to admire her and the amazing couch, impressive even by Emerald City standards.

"What a lovely young lady," a woman remarked, walking by with her friend on her arm. Galinda blushed deeply as several similar comments floated to her ears.

"Petal," Galinda said to the driver, tucking her feet into the couch before shutting the door. Another couple had stopped just after she closed it, then another, and another. Galinda smiled extra sweetly and waved to the people gathering.

"And take the long way."

------

Galinda had adored Petal from her first sight of its open air café. One sip of their simple but full rose tea, and she had been hooked. It was also only a minutes walk from the park, so she wouldn't have to take the rather conspicuous carriage down the lane that ran around the expansive miniature forest and valley. She could walk there herself easily, even in heels.

As soon as she had eaten her fill of delicious strawberry pastries, Galinda drank lazily from her cream-colored tea cup, watching the water that lay to the west of the park, lapping at the shore. Tiny boats dotted the lake, their sails swaying with the gentle breeze.

When she was finished with her tea, Galinda left a ridiculous tip, as she had a habit of doing, and giggled when the waitress rushed back to show her friends.

Galinda simply nodded to her driver as she crossed the silver-dusted lane and he knew to remain. Galinda did not suppress a small smirk as she snuck off to the park.

It was certainly a perfect day to be out and about, Galinda remarked to herself as she walked down the already familiar path. It was warm, comfortable, with the sun shining through the cool breeze that walked gently along the path with her. There were children playing, adults picnicking, dogs racing about in chase of various thrown objects. So many Ozians doing so many things. Galinda took a breath of fresh air and turned away from the beaten path, cutting into the trees. It wasn't a surprise to her, but no one else was in or near her chosen cluster of trees.

From the sounds and sights and the general busyness of the rest of the park, however, Elphaba could never have noticed Galinda, sneaking up behind the thick trees just to her left.

Galinda sidled up to a tree near enough to see well but not close enough that Elphaba could spot her and settled against it, the leaves above her head dispersing adequate shade. She sighed and rested her cheeks against her hand, quite comfortable.

From her hiding place, Galinda watched as Elphaba formed different things out of thin air: a flower, a leaf, her classic storm cloud. Elphaba's entire body seemed filled with her action, tensing and releasing with every spell. There very wind seemed to be coming to her aid, whipping around in slow, arched waves. Galinda sighed in amazement as Elphaba stood straight, her one hand extended, and manipulated the grass at her feet, changing it in length, size, color.

When she got to the color, Elphaba changed it to all colors of the rainbow. After several shades, she finally settled on an odd, creamy color, and continued to change it from green to cream and back again. She eventually crouched, letting her fingers gently push the grass back and forth, green to the left, cream to the right, her face downcast, the brim of her now constantly-worn hat masking her eyes. The wind died down gently, lulled around Elphaba like an invisible cradle slowly rocking her to sleep.

Galinda felt herself grow sad watching this private picture. Ever other time she had observed like this, Elphaba had seemed so concentrated and powerful, happy in one way or another.

But now, she looked...sad.

"Galinda..."

She jumped at the sound of her name falling from those thin, green lips. Had she seen her? She gripped the tree bark firmly, her nails almost breaking against it, and she waited, the breeze building again, pulling the curls from her face.

"Why can't I just tell you?"

Galinda's brow furrowed; she wasn't too sure that she had heard correctly.

"If I could just... say something, anything, to let you know how I really feel..."

Elphaba turned the grass back to green and threw her hand away, aggravated. She leapt up and paced the small patch of grass, her hands moving energetically.

"Am I just deluding myself? Thinking that you..."

Galinda spun back, holding herself rigidly against the tree. What in the world was Elphaba talking about? She strained to hear more, but Elphaba's words were lost on the newly born wind and all Galinda caught were the last two words that fell from her lips, understanding them more from sight than sound.

Love me.

There was something going on, Galinda thought, and, for some reason, this excited Galinda. She laid a hand to her chest, feeling her heart race.

Something good, she thought, is happening. Something very good.

But then, why did Elphaba look so sad?

Galinda turned around just as Elphaba was positioning her hands to begin another spell. She watched her for a moment to be sure that Elphaba would be too engaged in her magic to notice her slipping away and then Galinda slowly backed away from the tree. As soon as she was out of hearing range, she ran off to her carriage, hundreds of different thoughts and ideas running through her pretty little head.

"I'll find out what's going on, Elphaba," she said to herself as she sprinted past the café, "And no magic you use can stop me!"


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen: Unspoken

Elphaba wiped her damp brow, hat in her left hand. She'd had a long, long day. No in the conventional, time-oriented way, no. She was actually going back earlier than usual, but Elphaba was exhausted. She'd pushed herself more in that small space of time than she had in the last few months combined. She all but limped back to the hotel.

At least I can get a shower in before Galinda gets home, she thought.

Home.

How easily that little, two-room suite had garnered that name. It felt more like home to Elphaba than any place in Oz ever had, or, she thought, ever could. She was so content, working tirelessly and coming home to a now giddy-again Galinda. What had changed to make things so easy between them? What had made Galinda so happy, and how long would it last?

How long would all of it last?

Elphaba shook her head, trying not to think so deeply as she rounded the corner, her boots smacking the sidewalk.

Enjoy it while you can, the voice in her head told her, pity in the otherwise ominous words, and Elphaba immediately knew that she had to take the words to heart. She slipped through the spinning front door of the hotel, left shoulder first, and tossed all doubts and worries from her head. She was meeting the Wizard tomorrow! That was more than she could ever have hoped for. It was time to enjoy life for the night and one, short day the next morning, before she met the Wizard in the afternoon.

Thoughts of being in the Palace flooded Elphaba's mind. What would it look like? She didn't think anything she could ever dream up would be beautiful enough. And the Wizard, what of him? He had to be handsome, tall, strong. He would be impressive simply to look at, not to mention his powers. If Elphaba could make storm clouds and change the color of the grass, she couldn't even begin to imagine what wondrous things the Wizard was capable of!

Elphaba pressed the button on the elevator and leaned back against the wall, the brim of her hat held tightly in her hands. She shut her eyes gently. So many things that she wanted to ask the Wizard, so many things she wanted to tell him! If she didn't get into the shower soon and wash some of the tension and excitement away, she was going to burst!

When the doors opened, Elphaba exited without looking up and took the memorized steps quickly and without thought. Her only want for the moment was to stand beneath the solace of streaming hot water.

When she unlocked the door and finally opened her eyes, however, all thoughts of a shower, or anything outside of the immediate room, were lost.

"Galinda?"

Galinda did not correct her, attributing Elphaba's slip to the shock of seeing the bedroom awash in the warm light of innumerable white candles, flickering silently. The rest of the suite was plunged in darkness, leaving only the bed illuminated, the plain cotton sheets looking regal in the quiet hum of light.

Galinda, though, outshone everything.

"You look so beautiful," Elphaba blurted out. Her hand came to her mouth just a moment later, her eyes wide in fear. Galinda blushed, glowing beneath Elphaba's appreciative gaze. She giggled, tossing her hair from her face. Her full cheeks glowed light pink in the candle light, her golden curls looking even paler, flowing in soft waves over her shoulders, just barely gracing the shoulder straps of one of the many dresses she had purchased already. The thick, silky straps led down to a simple, pretty, slip-like dress.

This dress, in particular, was Galinda's favorite. It was form fitting without being clingy, pretty without being too girly, and well cut without being vulgar.

By the way Elphaba stared breathlessly in the stifling moment, Galinda knew that it was perfect.

"What... what _is_ all this?" Elphaba managed, her voice momentarily returning in the still heat. She crossed the room, her eyes never leaving Galinda as she opened one of the two small windows for ventilation. As she passed, she noticed some plates and glasses on the bed, laid out neatly beside Galinda.

"I thought we could have a nice dinner here, to celebrate... since you're meeting the Wizard tomorrow," Galinda said, choosing her words carefully. She didn't want to volunteer any more information than Elphaba asked for.

Standing at the foot of the bed, Elphaba was entirely unsure of what to do. Her eyes found Galinda's amongst the twinkling lights, but she soon looked away, over powered by the honesty in that blue gaze.

What was going on? Elphaba had to wonder. This wasn't by any means odd behavior for Galinda, but there was something about this, the scent of perfume permeating the air, the romantic candle glow, and that _dress_...

"Galinda," Elphaba said slowly, "Why didn't you just make reservations somewhere? I'm sure that there's some restaurant out there you've tried that would've been appropriate."

"Because this is so much more private," Galinda deapanned and Elphaba was stunned silent once more.

"Private?" Elphaba croaked. Galinda patted the bed wordlessly and Elphaba moved to sit, unable to resist the pull of perfume and golden light. "Why would you want privacy?" she asked, shifting as close as she dared.

Oh, how many answers to that one, simple question, all waiting on the tip of Galinda's tongue. But only one was appropriate for the moment, for what she thought the night would be.

"Well, because I know how uncomfortable you are in crowds and... And there's something I wanted to tell you, but I wanted it just to be you and I..."

Galinda swallowed and licked her lips. Elphaba watched her nervously, her deep brown eyes flickering to green, her lips half parted, waiting. She waited for a good while before Galinda spoke again in careful, practiced words.

"We're not at Shiz anymore, Elphie," she began, inching closer to Elphaba, who fought her instinct to move away, "and I wanted you to know that... that you are i>loved /i>," she said, her hand floating to her chest as though she were coaxing up the more difficult words, "no matter what the Wizard says tomorrow. No matter what happens," she continued, her voice growing weak, "I... will still love you."

Her hand wavered at her chest and her words trailed away with the cold breeze streaming in through the open window. She shivered.

Galinda waited for a response, some indication that Elphaba understood her, but none came. She twittered on the edge of tears, feeling all of her waiting and hoping had perhaps been for naught, weighing her hopes and fears on Elphaba.

Mercifully, Elphaba looked away. Galinda tried to distract herself fromher fearsby grabbing a glass and beginning to pour their drinks, but the sudden touch of a green hand stopped her.

Elphaba's skin glimmered like a shining jewel in the candle light, Galinda's gaze fixed on that hand, on the valleys of skin just below Elphaba's knuckles. Her own hand quivered beneath Elphaba's,a shiver climbing up through her and resonating within Elphaba's own flesh.

A second hand nervously joined its brother, enveloping Galinda's tiny fist in heat. The room swayed in light as cold air flowed around the room in a small circle, chilling them both suddenly.

A single tear broke forth and the tiniest gasp escaped Galinda, breaking the silence gently.

Elphaba's right hand came up slowly, turning Galinda's face towards hers. Tears streamed silently down her face, shimmering like lakes of gold on her frightened face. Water dripped over her lips, her eyes shaking as Elphaba's cradled her cheek in one hand.

Searching Galinda's eyes, Elphaba learned more from that moment of silence than she had in all the words that had ever come from Galinda's pouted mouth. Galinda, however, could stand the silence no longer.

"Elphaba, I'm so sorry you ever doubted that I--"

"Shh... don't. Don't say anything," Elphaba said and Galinda was silent again, but a long shudder told Elphaba much more. She chewed her bottom lip nervously, searching for the words, but none came.

She's right, you know, the voice said suddenly, you're not at Shiz anymore. And who knows, if you go with the Wizard, you may never even see her again. This may be your last chance.

My last chance.

Elphaba's eyes refocused on Galinda and she swallowed audibly. She shifted on the bed, resting her thigh against Galinda's, her stockings making a scratching sound as she moved. Slowly and awkwardly, more unsure of herself then than she had ever been in her entire life, Elphaba's other hand sought out Galinda's cheek, blindly, as Elphaba had shut her eyes, afraid to see Galinda's face.

She felt a shudder run its course through Galinda and roll through her, gooseflesh rising on her skin. The heat of the room pulsated, a delicate wind cooling them and fading in and instant. Elphaba drew nearer, shivering from the cold, the heat, the moment. She inched closer, her leg pressed against Galinda's thigh,the silk silent as she waited.

Finally, Elphaba touched her forehead to Galinda's, holding the soft, rounded face tenderly in both hands. The thinnest film of sweat mixed between the two layers of skin and Elphaba painstakingly brought her nose to Galinda's, the tips brushing and then settling against each other. Galinda let out a gentle sound, her breath mingling with Elphaba's. They remained this way for a long while, Elphaba's elbows in the air, Galinda's finger's searching for her. Her hands gently gripped Elphaba's forearms and the air stilled, silence pressing in on them.

Galinda took one last breath of her own.

Suddenly, Elphaba closed the distance between their lips, her thin, dry ones meeting Galinda's quivering, smooth ones as eagerly as unsurely. Galinda's heart did back flips and her mind floated to some wonderful place as she gave into the kiss, opening her lips to the gentle, cautious swipe of Elphaba's tongue. Elphaba was lost in the scent of wild flowers and the taste of Galinda's mouth, the kiss consuming her completely, fully. She could think of nothing but the present, nowhere, no one, nothing else. She took in Galinda, her chest light with the girl's own breath, and her heart fluttered, her entire body quite happily lost in the moment.

Galinda's eyes opened mid kiss and she almost laughed at the sight of Elphaba, eyes shut tight in concentration.

I'm not a spell, Elphie, Galinda thought. But how to tell her?

Show her, Galinda heard.

And so she did.

Galinda thrust her hand into the black net of Elphaba's hair and kissed her fiercely, causing Elphaba to freeze at the sudden motion. In that one action, the two learned much of each other, more than they had in months passed. Words unsaid, caresses unacknowledged, lingering eyes never caught were thrown into the open with the press of two mouths, hungry to learn more, desperate to know what they had only dared to dream of.

In the minutes, hours, however long it was that they moved as one, the two memorized skin, responses, sounds. The grass changed from green to cream throughout the night, colors dancing in the heat and passing breeze. In the quiet hours, they read the passages written only in the unspoken language of flesh and movement.

"Elphie?" Galinda said softly, when they finally lay still, the cool night air settling gently on their warm bodies like a comfortable blanket.

"Yes, Glinda?" she said, exaggerating the name. Galinda giggled and laid her head on Elphaba's warm, damp chest, long,dark tresses floating down over her collar bone like black water. She rested her hand on the green and black forest, lazily twirling Elphaba's hair with her fingers.

"I want it to be like this at Shiz," Galinda said at length. Elphaba took a sharp breath.

"You mean--"

"Yes, Elphie," she whispered softly.

Galinda shifted onto her elbow and looked down at Elphaba with such sincerity in her blue depths that Elphaba could not help but believe what she was saying.

"You, and me, Elphaba. No matter what anyone else thinks."

"But Fiyero--"

"Shh, don't worry about him," Galinda said, lowering her lips to Elphaba's. Her lips swiftly slid over her last few words. "He's worried enough about himself for the both of us."

Galinda curtained their faces in a shower of golden locks and took Elphaba's breath from her, savoring the salty taste left on her lips.

"My pretty," Elphaba cooed between kisses, her mind just barely piecing words together, so happy was she. She encircled Galinda in her arms, pulling her to her, letting the small woman settle in the crook of her arm. Galinda turned into her and Elphaba kissed the top of her head as Galinda laid her arm over Elphaba's chest.

"You, Galinda, and me. No matter what anyone else thinks."

She felt Galinda nod and heard a tiny, tired yawn. Elphaba laughed softly at the sound and stroked Galinda's hair as her breathing slowed.

"Sleep well...

"My sweet."


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Wizamania 

Elphaba yawned groggily and pulled the sheets over her legs, having kicked those off during the night. She wasn't cold now, no, but she always slept in that fashion, feeling protected by the thin fabric that stopped just below her navel. Her fingers hung limply over her exposed abdomen.

She turned over, away from the open window and the light breeze that made her skin tingle. Her loose hair fell over the wide pillow, soaking it in black, and she sighed, content.

She's beautiful, Galinda thought, silently watching and remembering all the times she had done just that at Shiz, wordlessly observing in the early morning hours when Elphaba was sound asleep. Did she dream? Galinda wondered. Could she dream? And if she did, was Galinda ever lucky enough to accompany her into her subconscious world?

Galinda reached a hesitant hand out over Elphaba's head and slowly slid her fingers through the thick strands nearest the crown. She sighed to herself when Elphaba unconsciously pushed forward into her palm, tangling her hair around Galinda's fingers.

Sleep, Galinda concluded, allowed Elphaba an innocence that Galinda could only hope to glimpse in her waking hours. Elphaba hid herself away so well when she was awake, but here, now, Elphaba's mind gave her what she wanted: Galinda.

And she was more than happy to oblige.

Despite her joy at being able to share this intimate moment with Elphaba, there were a million questions and thoughts running about in Galinda's head. They chiefly surrounded Elphaba, and what they were going to do when they returned to Shiz.

_If_ she returned to Shiz, Galinda corrected. If the Wizard took Elphaba under his wing, she didn't know when she'd be able to see Elphaba again.

And what if he didn't take her? People would talk at Shiz, of course, they always did, but when would the gossip end? Would her friends stay? Her family?

Would Elphaba come back at all?

"Oh, Elphie," Galinda whispered in a pained voice. "Why you?"

Galinda hated herself for this single, overly present question that trumped her other thoughts. It was the honest question, she knew, and it was really to be expected thing to be wondering in her position, but she still felt guilty for it. Why? She could not help but ask herself, and the unknown forces at work. Why her, why now? Why any of this?

Perhaps the Wizard would be able to put her fears to rest, Galinda thought. She tried to put her faith in that. His decision would mean a great change to their relationship, for better or worse.

I don't want to lose her, Galinda thought. Her inner voice chuckled.

You will lose her. Whether the Wizard takes her or not.

Galinda stroked Elphaba's hair, unable to respond. She knew that it was true. That night would become the only night they were together, and Galinda had to face that.

Elphaba tensed beneath Galinda's fingertips, as though feeling her thoughts through the soft pads of her digits. Galinda immediately ceased her fretting. She and Elphaba would discuss all of this in good time and they could worry later. Galinda had plans laid out for the day and she would make the most of the time they had left.

"Come on, Elphie," she whispered, ruffling Elphaba's hair. "We've got just one short day… and there's so much to do!"

------

After thirteen stores, two salons, one spa, innumerable street vendors, and a pet shop, Elphaba was all too glad to collapse into a chair at "The Brass Monkey", an antique shop and café. Galinda seated herself more demurely and ordered for the two of them: tea and soup.

The waiter, a handsome young man of twenty-some years, smiled at Galinda as he took the order. Galinda's eyes followed him until him until he was out of sight.

"Does anyone ever _not_ flirt with you?" Elphaba asked, rolling her eyes. She stared at the space where the boy had been with utter contempt.

"Don't you start with me, Elphaba Thropp. You're just as guilty of acts of flirtation as that young man," she said, laying her napkin out on her lap. The waiter brought their tea out promptly, promising to have the soup soon.

Elphaba, glaring after him, started at Galinda's sarcasm.

"I never flirt!" she responded. "And most especially not with you!"

"Oh?" Galinda feigned surprise and stupidity (which wasn't much of a challenge). "And that time you gave me those flowers?" Elphaba's face blushed purple beneath her green cheeks. "Or that _friendly_ back rub?"

"You said your neck hurt!" Elphaba spat, but Galinda simply shook her head.

"Oh, Elphaba, you're so easy," she teased. Elphaba reddened, and the waiter returned with their order. She stared and Galinda in silence, her mouth shut tightly. As soon as the waiter retreated, Elphaba's mouth flew open.

"I wouldn't say that I'm the easy one at this table."

Galinda's eyes widened, instantly welling up, and Elphaba suddenly realized how wrong her words had come out.

"Oh, Galinda, I didn't mean it like that! I meant that you're so gullible and--"

"Don't apologize," Galinda said curtly, tears stinging her eyes. "You're the one who lowered yourself to bed me."

Elphaba's eyes sank to her lap. Why had she said that? Was she insane?

You just want her to go back to Fiyero, her voice said. You know that she won't be able to stay with you if the Wizard takes you in, and if he says no, you won't want to be around anyone, anyway.

Elphaba bit back on that bit of truth, preferring to deal with Galinda as she was now, sitting in front of her, thinking that last night was some sort of one-night tryst.

"That was different," she said softly. "It's so much more when you know the person… when you love them."

Had she just said that aloud?

When she looked up, Galinda was smiling gently at her.

"Oh, Elphie, do you really mean that?"

Elphaba's face relaxed and she nodded. No matter what happened, she knew that much was true. Reaching across the table with her right hand, Elphaba took Galinda's left and squeezed reassuringly.

"How could I not? I mean, I flirted so shamelessly."

Galinda giggled at this and swallowed, knowing her face was redder than the roses hawked by street sellers. She breathed in sharply, fanning herself, as she felt quite faint.

"Elphie," she whispered, trying to calm her welling tears. "I was so worried that you regretted last night. But I love--"

"Will that be all?" the waiter asked, suddenly at their table again. Galinda snatched her hand away by reflex and immediately regretted it, seeing the pain in Elphaba's eyes.

"No, no, that's everything," Galinda said, reaching for her purse. "If I could just have the bill…"

As Galinda paid for the meal, Elphaba sank back down into her seat. Hadn't Galinda said last night that she wanted to be with her? Hadn't she promised they would be together at Shiz? If she couldn't stand a waiter, someone she didn't even know, seeing them hold hands, how could she ever tell her friends about them?

"Oh, Elphaba, we need to hurry!" Galinda said, glancing at her watch. "We're going to be late for Wizamania."

Elphaba, however, didn't quite hear her. She was looking around her, watching the other couples eating, chatting merrily, not a care in the world. They all looked so happy.

Everyone had been like this, all day, Elphaba noticed. They went about their lives without any concern to her or Galinda. Why couldn't Galinda realize that?

"Galinda, have you noticed?" Elphaba said at last. Galinda looked around, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Notice what, Elphie?" she said carefully. She was expecting a comment concerning the couple's holding hands, but wondered if Elphaba would be so bold.

"No one's staring," Elphaba said, just realizing it herself. "All day, no one has stared, or pointed, or insulted me…"

She looked at Galinda suddenly, hoping for her comprehension. Didn't she understand? If she stayed with her in the Emerald City, she wouldn't have to worry about her friends, or her family! No one here _cared_ that Elphaba was green; no one would say anything if they were together!

"I feel more at home here, with you, than I have anywhere else," Elphaba said.

"Me too," Galinda admitted. "I wish we could stay here forever… but we have to go home sometime."

Elphaba grimaced inwardly at those last few words. Couldn't Galinda see? She wouldn't be going home! She knew that the Wizard would take her in, once he saw what she could do!

Galinda watched silently, seeing the love in Elphaba's eyes. But it wasn't a love for her, she knew. It was a love of this place, of the welcoming arms of the city.

How can I lose her? Galinda thought, if she's already gone?

The Wizard holds her heart, Galinda realized. And if she loved Elphaba, she would have to respect that.

"We've got the rest of the day, Elphie," Galinda said, slowly bringing her back down to reality. "We're just two friends, out on the town."

"Two good friends?" Elphaba said, a bit startled by Galinda's word choice. What did she mean, friends? Hadn't she been about to say something very different just a moment ago? Was she afraid someone would overhear if she said something more, even after what Elphaba had said?

"Two best friends," Galinda volleyed, swallowing the bile that rose with those words. If Elphaba's true love was magic, she wouldn't let herself stand in the way.

Elphaba opened her mouth as though to say something, but Galinda had already turned away. The second she spotted a sunglass salesman, Elphaba knew the conversation was lost.

Galinda brushed aside a tear and rushed after a street vendor selling large, dark glasses. She would hide her tears from Elphaba. She would not ruin this day that was meant to be everything to her.

Elphaba watched for a moment as Galinda chased after the man, then shook her head and followed.

------

The two girls slid into their seats at the Emerald Theater just as the curtain was about to rise. Elphaba sat back in her seat, bogged down by thought. The sparkling scene lit up the stage and Galinda was on the edge of her seat from the very first note, her face turned away from Elphaba.

Though Elphaba was a fan of the theater, she could not concentrate on the show. The subject matter, for one, only worsened her nerves. "Wizamania" was entirely about the Wizard, the man who would decide not only her fate in magic, but her fate in love.

Further more, how could she concentrate on the Wizard when Galinda was sitting right next to her? Galinda, who she thought she was beginning to understand, and had suddenly turned around on her again? Elphaba had thought the Emerald City would solve all of her problems. Now it was as if the fates had spun all of Oz on its head in order to torment her.

Elphaba sighed, feeling as though she had thrown herself into the fire, rather than escaping the flames she had been skirting all along. The show danced and whirled before her, characters dancing by, singing in chirpy voices.

"Ooo-oo-ooo," they sang energetically, and Elphaba lowered her head to her chest.

"Isn't he wonderful? Our Wonderful Wizard."

She certainly hoped so.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Defiance

Soft dusk light warmly illuminated the seemingly country scene, a wandering, grassy ocean, cut down the center by a yellow snake of brick. The wind was gentle, almost sweet, and it swirled the grass softly, as though invisible fingers dabbled in long green strands of hair and highlights of golden, sun bleached wheat.

Such a beautiful place was as far from "city" as one could want it to be. Never could such a place be hidden in the Emerald City!

Hidden, of course, it was not. This place was directly in the center of the city, there for all to see. Indeed, anyone could reach it.

That is, if they could get passed the front gates.

High, golden arches and a tall, powerful fence surrounded the endless acres of grassy oasis. One could only access it through the front gates: over sixty feet tall, comprised of thick, winding gold protected by guards not only _at_ the gate, but at three intervals of ten feet before it.

Given those imposing surroundings, Galinda's fear was only understandable.

"Miss Elphaba and Galinda to see the Wizard."

Galinda's driver spoke smoothly and calmly, surprising both of his passengers, who sat in tense silence behind him. A soldier stepped up to the carriage, intimidating in his royal, military jacket of green fabric and golden accents. His tall, fluffed hat poked in through the window as he peered into the carriage, ultimately failing in trying to see the man's passengers. Galinda covered her mouth with her hands, trying desperately not to let her breathing reflect the panic in her chest.

"Invitation?" the soldier said, sounding dubious. He arched a thick eyebrow when the driver produced a large piece of paper.

As he inspected the sheet, Galinda could feel her heart in her throat. Her eyes flicked from the man, to Elphaba, and out the window, her uncontrolled vision continuing to cycle unendingly. Her fingers, slipping in the sweat her palms so liberally produced, tangled about one another, trying to gain some sort of grip, but she could gain no control, even over something as simple as that. Every now and then, her hands would separate to wipe away the drippings on her forehead.

She shook as she did this and did not understand how her tremors did not cause the entire seat to vibrate and disturb her partner. Elphaba, however, seemed not to notice Galinda at all.

From the moment they had left the show, Elphaba had been silent. Galinda had tried all manner of conversational thread to coax something out of Elphaba, but those thin evergreen lips that had been so gentle the night before were now rigid and unyielding to even the softest of pleas.

So Galinda remained, twittering just a seat away from Elphaba, but feeling as though the entire world lay between them.

Elphaba heard the soldier give orders to the others, but she could not hear exactly what was being said. When the gates began to open and the carriage lurched forward, Elphaba assumed with great relief that they had passed the test.

Elphaba heard Galinda sigh and sit back in her seat, which aggravated Elphaba. What did she have to worry about? It wasn't as though _her_ fate was to be decided on this day.

Much as Elphaba felt frightened by that thought, she said nothing to Galinda. What could she say that would not lead to an argument? Elphaba shook her head. How had things come to this? In just one short day?

As the carriage rolled closer to the Palace, the yellow brick road slowly widening, the slowly descending sun lighting up the yellow stone at the apex of Elphaba's sight, making the horizon looking like a gleaming line of golden light. The Palace's central dome rose in the distance like a great emerald stone emerging from an ocean of grass, shimmering in the low, rosy light. The carriage rattled as it slowed, the wheels bouncing over each imperfection worn into the last of the bricks. Galinda clung to the door handle, jostled by each movement, but Elphaba remained still, unmoving until they came to a stop.

Both doors to the carriage clicked open, first Elphaba's then Galinda's, and two young men extended their hands and smiles to the young ladies. Both were dressed quite similarly to the soldier at the front gate, but toned down slightly. They wore no hats, but their coats were of the same dark green and yellow latches, made more elegant by a long coattail. They spoke in equally enchanting voices, their bright eyes beaming at their guests. .

"Welcome to the Royal Palace of His Wonderfulness, The Wonderful Wizard."

Neither girl, however, reciprocated the welcome, though each for their very own, very different reasons. Galinda nodded, not looking at the young man helping her down. She chanced a look over her shoulder, trying to see Elphaba as another, equally handsome man helped her down, but all she could see was a mass of black hair flowing in the sudden cold breeze.

Galinda held herself tightly, rather exposed to the cold in her short dress. She peered up from under a flurry of gold curls but, even when they rounded the carriage, all Galinda could see was a scowl, pulled tightly across Elphaba's lips.

The two gentlemen (presumably Munchkins, Galinda thought, for she found herself to be much taller than both young men upon setting foot on the golden path) led Galinda and Elphaba, by hand, to the front doors. Compared to their expectations, the doors were rather simple, made of comparatively plain, dark wood. The two men strode to the doors simply, leaving the ladies a good few meters behind them. With a knowing smile on their faces, they reached for the large, brassy handles and, after a pause that both Galinda and Elphaba sensed was planned, they suddenly threw their strength into pulling those handles down and away.

"Wow."

The setting sunlight rushed up and into the doorway like fire rushing through a diamond as the large doors eased open. That fire erupted throughout an emerald floor and spread outward, as though bursting from within the very walls. A bright, stunning, gem-like green sparkled all around them and Galinda could not help but feel her very breath stolen from her. She had never _seen_ such beauty.

"Eh hem."

The young man behind Galinda skirted around her and she blushed, feeling foolish. She shut her mouth resolutely, not wanting to appear common.

Once inside (and not as blinded by the reflective light), Galinda got a true look at her surroundings.

The walls, ceilings, and floors, were a shimmering, semi-translucent green that Galinda had to wonder about. Could anyone _really _have so much money as to have a entire palace of real emerald?

And the gold, oh, it was _everywhere_! All the trim, the torch holders, the doors, every bit of it golden. And if the floors were made of emerald, who was to doubt that the door handles were real gold?

Galinda was not given much time to think about, though, because the silent pair were immediately ushering their guests through the small hallway to the left, down a tiny corridor. Everywhere they looked, though, the same beauty and awe-inspiring elegance was duplicated. Up a staircase, through another hall, around a corner, their eyes met the same amazing sights. Eventually, after being led up another floor, Elphaba and Galinda started down what they slowly found to be a painfully long flight of stairs. As they walked, the steps slowly transformed from the constant, bright emerald to hard stone. Galinda could feel a chill as they began to descend and shivered, less from the cold than from an uncertain worry bordering on fear. Her eyes would not remain on any one spot too long, and she found herself searching unconsciously for routes of escape.

In a tight, narrow stairway, though, there weren't exits left and right. Eventually, however, and with an attentive eye, Galinda noticed something odd.

"Elphaba, look."

Elphaba stopped, her cloak swiping the stair as she turned to see what it was Galinda could consider noteworthy in a barren, grey stairwell. Galinda had noticed a small gap in the left wall. It was, she could only assume, another passage way, but it was completely dark, cast in shadows. Galinda went to peer down the black corridor when her escort slipped between her and the wall, telling her that the Wizard was waiting.

Galinda allowed herself to be led away, but she looked at Elphaba with a curiosity in her eyes. Elphaba only wished that Galinda would remain quiet.

There were no doubt _hundreds_ of different passages throughout the palace, many most certainly secret, and Elphaba knew and respected that. She was not, however, as eager to investigate those as Galinda surprisingly was. Elphaba didn't want to think of what would happen were she to set out on her own in the place. Why, if she didn't end up lost, there were probably magic spells that would befall her! Galinda's curiosity was unhealthy and uncharacteristic. Elphaba could only hope that Galinda would behave herself in front of the Wizard.

The group continued to progress in renewed silence until the slope of the winding staircase slowly started to level out and straighten. The path was eventually smooth, and they found themselves in a strange, wide corridor, that looked far too large to truly fit in the place they had seen from the outside. On either side of the path before them were tall pillars, spaced widely apart. The walls curved as they rose, the pillar tops meeting them as they arched. The Wizard's men walked confidently out on to the floor and their footsteps were heavy and sonorous, resonating through the presumably marble floor.

Unlike the rest of the Palace, though, this place was so dimly lit that both Elphaba and Galinda were hesitant to follow into the darkness. They could not see the other end of the room, though they knew it was not too far off, from the echo of footsteps returning so quickly, but that was not quite enough to encourage them to take the plunge.

I've come this far, Elphaba thought. I won't let _this_ stop me.

Galinda swallowed hard when Elphaba marched off, looking much more confident than she felt. Though Galinda never could have known the apprehension in Elphaba's heart, she felt quite ashamed for not being brave enough to simply walk down a hallway!

"Elphaba, wait," Galinda whispered, but her voice was carried by the cavern of a room and made to sound much more plaintive and dismayed than it had been said. Elphaba, in spite of herself, was stopped in her tracks.

She turned, searching the darkness and eventually saw the smoky form of a woman materializing out of the black.

"Thank you," Galinda said, her voice barely audible. She cast her eyes down, but Elphaba caught the appreciation and relief that Galinda could not chase from her lips discreetly or quickly enough.

Elphaba cleared her throat and waited for Galinda too catch up to her. As soon as she reached her though, Galinda continued on hurriedly. Elphaba watched her go and, upon realizing that Elphaba was not with her, Galinda stopped and turned.

"Well? Are you coming?"

Elphaba chuckled and shook her head but followed, a few swift steps allowing her to overtake Galinda easily. She slowed though, and smiled in the night-like air, confident that Galinda could not see her.

In the silent darkness, Galinda felt compelled to say something, knowing that there was so little time left. Soon, very soon, Elphaba would be pulled from her forever and perhaps it was because this was the very last moment they might ever have that Galinda felt her confidence grow. Or, rather, her inhibition was abated.

"Elphaba, I..."

"Galinda, look!"

Galinda, flustered, looked up to where Elphaba was pointing and saw, quite plainly in the short distance, a set of doors. They looked simple enough, a deep emerald color, but clearly made of stone. As they grew closer, they saw that these doors were cut deeply with the letter "O". There was nothing odd about them until they began to get closer.

These doors were _massive_.

By the time they stood before the entrance, Elphaba and Galinda were dwarfed by the green wall. It looked more like a draw bridge towering above them than a set of doors! Before this stunning entrance, Galinda could not pursue the words she had just a mere second ago been ready to set into.

"Is this...?"

Elphaba only nodded, not looking at her, starring like an amazed child given their first glimpse of the stars. The Munchkins slipped around them silently, though they couldn't have distracted them if they had wanted to.

Two immense golden rings hung from the door, just low enough for the Munchkins to reach. They extended their arms as high as they could manage and literally hung from the rings for a moment before they were able to stand on their tip-toes. They simultaneously pulled down from the door and then fell away, letting the handles drop.

In that moment, Galinda had no doubt that the handles were made of pure gold. They must have been, for they were so heavy and struck the stone with so intense a force that Galinda had to cover her ears as the sound reverberated and bounded around the room, echoing so loudly it was as though the sound were created anew every few seconds.

Elphaba winced, but did not move, and her eyes never wavered from the door.

"Look," she whispered, "It's opening."

Galinda looked up, her ears ringing painfully, and saw that the massive, foot-thick doors were cracking open, slowly easing outward. From inside, all she could see was a blinding light.

And then they heard the voice.

"WHO GOES THERE? WHO DARES DISTURB THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ?"

The Munchkins rushed away, dashing back the way they had come. Elphaba, slightly frightened, thought to say something, but was silent in the resolution that she would not show her fear.

"WAIT!" Galinda yelled over the din, trying to grab one of the men as they rushed past. "We don't know how to get back!"

But neither boy even looked at her and they soon disappeared in the distant darkness, even their footsteps eventually drowned in the booming voice.

"WHO ARE YOU?"

The voice said this again, but Galinda could not respond. She pushed Elphaba forward and a puff of smoke issued forth from the now open doors.

Elphaba progressed slowly, shifting through the smoke and shielding her eyes with the broad side of her arm.

"Elphaba Thropp, Sir," Elphaba called out over the loud, metallic buzz emanating from behind the brilliant light. "I'm here to see the Wizard!"

The hum and light fluctuated as though the sound and white glare were contemplating this girl, but then the cacophony and light flared like a supernova and, just as suddenly, it harshly died. Elphaba's eyes fought to regain focus and her head ached, a buzz lingering in her ears. Her rapid fire thoughts extended for a brief second to Galinda, who she reached unconsciously behind herself for.

To her disappointment, Elphaba felt nothing.

"ENTER!"

Elphaba paused for a moment and looked back. Galinda was standing at the doorway, her fingers clinging to the frame. "Go on," she mouthed. Elphaba swallowed her fears and did as the nerve-shaking voice commanded.

As Galinda watched her go into the smoke and dark, she prayed that, whatever lay in the unseen, that this was what would make Elphaba happy. This had to be, she could feel it.

This was her destiny.

Any Galinda wasn't about to let anything stop it.

"Your Ozness, please, we're sorry if we're late. The traffic was horrendifying!"

Galinda shuffled across the floor, trying not to think on what could possibly be lurking beneath the thick mist that covered the ground. She snuck past a thoroughly shocked Elphaba, who's mouth gaped open in shameful lack of manners.

"What are you _doing_?" Elphaba asked desperately through clenched teeth, shocked not only by Galinda's sudden vocalness, but her ability to lie in front of the Wizard! That, Elphaba had not expected at all.

"Hush, Elphie," Galinda dismissed her, throwing a hand simply in her direction as though that ended the matter. "Now, your Wonderfulness, surely you recognize Elphaba Thropp? Your future heir?"

Galinda felt that last bit to be a tad excessive, but that was what she was good at. Exaggeration.

Suddenly, the brilliant light flickered and Elphaba winced, her corneas stinging with each flash. But her eyes soon adjusted and through the pulsing light she could make out an outline of... a face?

Elphaba's eyes widened to ten times their normal size as the lights began to dim enough for her to see clearly. She and Galinda were standing before what could only be described as an enormous, metal face, mounted on a free-standing wall. The strange, surreal creature swung to and fro on the wall, a loud creaking of joints echoing through the room as it strained to speak.

After the immediate shock wore off, Elphaba got a better look at her surroundings. The room wasn't very large (it was round and of minimal circumference, just big enough to accommodate the wall and little more) but the ceiling was very, _very_ high. It seemed to go on forever, fueling Elphaba's assumption that they were underground, somewhere far beneath the city streets.

But soon her attention focused once more on this... _thing_. It's wide jaw clanked once, the over-bite causing a loud clack as it hit the upper lip. Just above the edge of the lip a large, thin nose jutted out from between two small, bright green eyes that looked every which way and seemed to be made of glass. The jaw opened again as though it were about to speak, but it shut it's mouth harshly once more and the chin sank, resting against the wall from which it protruded like a strange growth.

With the light now considerably lowered and coming from a single bulb behind the head, Elphaba relaxed, feeling slightly less bewildered. At the center of the room, where the giant head stood, Elphaba watched, waiting for this creature to speak once again.

"Elpahab? Is that you?"

The sound certainly came from the wall, but the mouth of the monster did not open. Instead, the suddenly small voice floated out from behind it, followed slowly by an equally diminutive man.

"Mr. Wizard?"

Elphaba just could not contain her shock. And she had thought the talking head odd! What was all of this? What in Oz was going on?

Like an aging man, the stranger eased around the wall and held it for a moment, gathering his bearings. He was looking down, breathing heavily, as though he had just finished a tiresome task.

"I'm sorry about all this," he said, at length, finally having caught up with his breath, "But the people... they come to expect this sort of thing." He gestured to the dangling head and the many lights placed around it and on the walls, which explained why it had felt as though the light was coming from everywhere (it has been). "And I always try to give them people what they want."

Elphaba immediately understood what had happened and felt foolish for having felt so frightened. She simply hadn't known what to expect and that, she surmised, was what had allowed her fears to get the better of her.

Well, she would not allow that to happen anymore, she decided. She wanted to know who this man was and what, _exactly_, was going on.

"Mr. Wizard I-"

"Oh ho, which witch is which?" the Wizard chuckled, wiping his damp palms on his grey pants. Elphaba thought the grey suit somehow familiar, but did not linger on that thought.

Galinda, who was apparently more comfortable (or at least more adept, in any event) in the situation, advanced on the Wizard, coming within a respectful few steps.

"Your Ozness," she repeated, "I am Galinda Upland, of the Upper Uplands? And I am accompanying Miss Elphaba on this exciting day. I just wanted to tell you what a _pleasure_ it is to meet you, and--"

"So that means _you_," the Wizard began, looking through the darkness to get a good look at the girl in black, "Are the young lady I've been hearing _so_ much about..."

Galinda sputtered, shocked at the Wizard's rudeness, but simply smiled and stood aside.

Don't interfere, her little voice said with mock joviality. And for once in her life, Galinda did as she was told, not because she had to, but because she wanted to.

The Wizard's attention was then undivided, though Galinda doubted she could have called attention to herself even if she had tried. He watched Elphaba steadily and it unnerved Elphaba, not being able to see this person who was so intently observing her. In a moment, though, he rose, slowly, and his features were gradually flooded by the mild, smoky light.

He was so small, Elphaba remarked immediately, and older than she had expected. She had anticipated someone younger, handsomer just... _different_. This man, he was old enough to be a grandfather! His low, wide brow and small chin were mismatched, and his snub nose far too little. Oversized ears and thinning hair completed the peculiar collage of features, but what stood out most (and what ultimately held Elphaba's attention) were his eyes.

Soft blue grey irises, so pale that they almost could not be real, peered out from below a deep-set brow. They were like bits of soul, appearing to have much more depth than that little man could possibly contain.

Distracted by his disarming eyes, Elphaba was alarmed when she suddenly noticed he was only an arm's length away and reaching for her.

"Elphaba," he said, taking her thin hand with his thick, worn one, "I am so glad to meet you."

He turned her hand over and enveloped it with his other hand, watching her eyes intently. He nodded, as though he were telling her something very important, and then turned, still holding her hand, and led her to the center of the room where he once again seated himself on the rim of the wall frame. Elphaba grinned silently, feeling impossibly awkward. The Wizard, whether he noticed or not, was already prepared to set his guest at ease.

"Now, I know you are probably nervous," he began, leaning back against the wall, "but I want you to know... that there is _nothing_ to be afraid of."

His voice was thin and rough, with a strong twang that neither Elphaba nor Galinda had ever heard before, but something about the way he spoke was soothing. That voice combined with the simple dress and gentle manner was surprising, yes, but it quickly led them to recognized why he held the prominent position he did. This man was born to lead; everything about him just made Elphaba feel calm and secure in his presence.

Galinda, however, felt quite the opposite.

Who was this little man? How in Oz was _he_ the Wizard? The entire situation made her too uncomfortable to stay.

"Your Wonderfulness, I'm sure that you and Elphaba have so much to talk about, so I'll just be on my way."

Galinda headed toward the exit, not dwelling on the fact that she hadn't the slightest idea where to go once she stepped over the threshold. Just as she was preparing to simply walk until she found someone to help her, Galinda was (for the second time) quite suddenly greeted by an unexpected, but not unfamiliar face.

"Madame Morrible!" she said, hardly able to comprehend her presence. "Shouldn't you be at Shiz?"

Elphaba's head flicked upward from her seat on the floor and her eyes widened in surprise and confusion.

"Madame Morrible, what are you doing here?" Elphaba sputtered. The Wizard, though, interjected, miraculously before the Madame could even open her mouth.

"Ah, I see you 've met my new press secretary!" He pulled himself up with help from the wall and shuffled toward a silenced Galinda and grinning Morrible. He smiled warmly at Madame Morrible, who tip-toed her way across the room in what Galinda thought to be the most _horrendable_ gown she had ever seen in her young life, holding a strange looking book that almost entirely covered her vast chest.

"Press Secretary?" Galinda and Elphaba mouthed, still startled and a bit lost. Madame Morrible beamed, handing the Wizard the tome, which Elphaba could see from her spot on the floor was very old and also very heavy, by the way the Wizard struggled with it.

"Yes, the Wizard is a very generous man," said Madame Morrible, finally speaking. "He takes good care of those who help him." She laid a hand on the Wizard's shoulder as she said this and seemed to direct the statement exclusively to Elphaba, who heard her quite clearly.

"Ah, Madame, you're too kind, too kind," the Wizard insisted, blushing slightly. "But we are _not_ here to talk about _me_." He made his way back to Elphaba, who was still on the floor, her legs tucked beneath her, and set the large book at her feet. Elphaba watched it, perplexed.

Galinda could see the confusion in Elphaba's face, but she knew, for once, more than Elphaba. And, in regards to this book, there was much to know.

"That's the Grimmerie," Galinda said softly, feeling that her surprise would never end. She took a cautious step forward, her right hand extended slightly, but the raucous noise of her heels bounded off of the stone walls and she swallowed at the harsh sound and three stern faces. Galinda stayed put.

"I've only heard talk about it," she admitted, "rumors, really. But to see it with my own eyes..."

Galinda laid a hand on her chest to steady her heart, which was beating ever harder against her chest.

Elphaba watched her, wondering what she was thinking. Was this book, this tattered thing with a cracked spine, so important that even Galinda was at a loss for words? Elphaba suddenly wanted very much to back away from it, both frightened and intrigued by its appearance as well as humbled and ashamed by her lack of knowledge.

"It's alright," the Wizard whispered. Elphaba was unable to hide how startled she was and gasped when he suddenly picked up the book and thrust it into her lap. She stared at it for a moment, her eyes dutifully examining, curiosity getting the better of her anxiety.

The cover was much more abused than Elphaba had observed from a distance, the cracks revealing the light base beneath quite clearly. The paper edges were uneven and coarse, thicker than any sheets of text that even Elphaba's well-read eyes had graced.

With an encouraging nod that Elphaba took as permission, the Wizard watched as his hopeful protégée lifted the front cover, which creaked as though threatening to break apart at the slightest wrong move. With painstaking care, Elphaba opened to the first page.

"Natum Grimmerie... The Grimmerie."

The page said just this, written in dark, dark ink that seemed to be fresh and wet, it shimmered so. Behind it was an simple design, but it meant much more to Elphaba.

A small, green vial, staring back at her from the depths of the book like a demon locked with it's pages. It pulled Elphaba forward and in, beckoning her, instructing her muscles to contract and turn to the next page entirely without her permission.

"Now, don't be upset if you can't read it, dear," Madame Morrible advised. "I myself can only read a few select paragraphs, and that took _years_."

Elphaba, however, was not listening. Galinda could see that look, that same look she always got when she was lost in the words. If anyone could understand this book, it was Elphaba. Galinda shot a glance to Madame Morrible, feeling smug in her confidence in Elphaba.

"Atumane, tumetaneh, galenute ute lanaye..."

Madame Morrible oriented to the soft, whispering sound, trailing through the air and wrapping around her ears and those of the two others listening.

"Is she..."

Galinda nodded silently.

"She is..."

"She _is_!"

The Wizard came up on Elphaba's shoulder, watching as she read the ancient words, reciting them as though it were her native language, her tongue slipping through the oddly familiar dance as though she had known it all her life.

"Tuleh tumen anateh... tuneh tumen anateh... oootehnalaah..."

Elphaba shut her eyes and the words slowed in the air, somehow echoing though she had just barely raised her voice. The air hummed with that same electricity and, quite suddenly, Elphaba felt...

"Warm?"

"It's a heat spell," the Wizard said. "I can read the writings, but only the potions have ever worked for me." Elphaba turned and saw him, leaning just next to her ear, his face bright with excitement.

"Well then, Elphaba, I think you are ready for my test!"

He vanished behind the wall and the women heard clanging and then a bit of struggling which they assumed was from effort.

But then they saw what it was really from, or rather, _who_ the sound was from.

"This," the Wizard said, "is Chistery." He ushered toward Elphaba a crouched, bald creature, who hoped across the floor like a human who had gotten used to walking in such a way. His broad nose, small eyes, and strange mannerisms made him endearing to her, despite his slightly disturbing appearance. He looked so much like a monkey yet... more humanity lay in his eyes than even in the Wizard's.

"You see, Elphaba... Chistery is my closest..." he paused, thinking, "_advisor_, you could call him, after Madame Morrible of course." He came closer to Chistery, but the small thing backed away, his tail swishing behind him.

He was dressed, Elphaba noted, not unlike one of the footmen who had taken them down here in the first place. His coattail skimmed the floor and the tunic was cut to match his short, muscular torso. In the way he bounced about, using both hands and feet, Elphaba was not surprised by the consistent muscle tone throughout his body. He bounded back to the wall and easily scaled it, jumping on top of the massive metal head and resting there, watching Elphaba intensely with what turned out to be dark red eyes.

Elphaba watched him, intrigued. He looked so innocent and fragile.

"Now, because Chistery is so close to me, I hate to see him suffer," the Wizard began to explain. "You see, Elphaba," he said, when she had turned her attention back to him, "Chistery watches the birds so _longingly_, it breaks my heart to see it! If only I could give him wings, so that he might have the chance to chase them..."

He peered at Elphaba out of the corner of his eye, fleetingly watching her as he looked, too, at Madame Morrible, who was anxiously awaiting Elphaba's answer.

Elphaba swallowed, shaking. She hadn't been ready for something like this. Hours and hours of practicing had not prepared Elphaba for such an advanced test. But she was determined; this would not be the end of her journey. She would try.

Leafing through the hundreds of pages, Elphaba began to panic, knowing that she could not read any of the words. The writing somehow transformed itself in her head, the tiny symbols becoming a song-like speech, but Elphaba could not bring up this ability of translation on command. How would she find the right spell if she didn't even know what she was looking for?

"Here," she said, suddenly, not knowing how or why she knew it to be the correct page. Her slender index finger slid down the lines, eventually pausing three quarters of the way down.

"Ahven tatey... aveh tateh aven...ahnooteh..."

As Elphaba spoke the other-worldly language, formerly only of myth and legend, she could feel the reality of each word as they wove in patterns of heat and gentle sensations on her skin. Her voice flowed, ascending and ebbing, the melodic phrases pouring out of her smooth as silk, each syllable floating like smoke to the ceiling high above.

"Ah may ah tay atum, Ah may ah tay ah atum!"

Galinda blinked, not understanding what was being said, but feeling what was happening with every inch of her body. It was as if she, too, were under this spell, unable to look away, unable to move, even if she had wanted to try.

Just as Galinda felt as though she would fall asleep then and there, floating on the sultry sounds of Elphaba's chants, Galinda was perturbed, brought back from the edge of sleep by a sharp, piercing sound.

"AAAAAAA! NYAAAAAAAAAH! AAA! AAA!"

Elphaba, equally disturbed by the sound, let her hands fall to her side, gradually descending from her mystic high as quickly as the strong spell would allow her. She fought to break the magic swirling around her, feeling as though the spell was more in control of her than she had power over it. Sudden exhaustion pressed down on her, but Elphaba could feel herself prying through the weakest point and she continued to push til she nearly fainted, falling forward with her eyes still open, but only just.

"Chistery!"

Elphaba dragged her nearly collapsed body across the floor toward him, but the Wizard was too quick, too able.

"Chistery, Chistery, speak to me!"

"Pain! PAIN!" he wailed, thrashing about, attempting with increasing desperation to claw at his back, which was erupting in burning, searing pain so intense it felt like he was truly on fire.

Elphaba, seeing his agony and fear, could only flip through the spell book, panicked, searching as quickly as her slowly strengthening limbs would allow her.

"You see?" Madame Morrible said, darting around Elphaba, smiling nervously at Chistery as his spasms continued. "I told you she could do it!" she said excitedly, ignoring him to an extent. "I was the one who told you! Who brought her here!"

Elphaba turned sharply, her eyes narrowed to slits.

"You were doing this for YOU!" she spat. "I should have know from the start that you being interested in me for my benefit couldn't have been true."

She immediately turned back to the book, now uncaring about damaging it as she flipped through the pages in growing anger. Madame Morrible stuttered, trying to explain to the Wizard, but he was barely listening as he watched Chistery, fascinated.

"It's for you too, dear, you benefit as well! You would have never gotten here without me!"

The one person who mattered in the situation, however, was inattentive to the squabbling. His eyes were fixed on the test subject, the reflection of Chistery's traumatic dance reflecting in his pale irises.

"Just a little longer, my friend," he whispered, his lips barely moving. "Just hold out a little longer!"

Elphaba, beyond anger and digging into fury, could not fathom his reaction.

"Can't you see it's hurting him?" She was threw her efforts into the book, though frightened and disturbed by the going ons, determined to find something, anything the help. In her desperation, she nearly tore the Grimmerie in half, no longer concerned with the condition of the delicate pages.

"How do I reverse it?" she asked, her voice teetering on edge as she tried to control her storming emotions. She couldn't understand any of the words, no longer sensing that feeling of connection to the strange symbols that had been so strong only moments ago.

"You cannot reverse a spell!" Madame Morrible said gravely. "Each one is irreversible."

Elphaba could not believe what she was hearing! They had let her go on with this... this experiment, without warning her of this fact?

"Then I'll find another spell, one to counteract it," Elphaba said, her resolve swelling with one last effort against the dam of hopelessness that was growing every higher before her. Through the tears clouding her eyes, Elphaba tried in vain to find another spell, to see something that could help Chistery, but she was utterly lost. Elphaba was about to throw the book across the room, when Galinda's voice shocked her into looking up.

"Elphaba!"

Galinda's voice was so full of fear and so unexpected that Elphaba's eyes could not help but find their way to Galinda, her finger pointed at Chistery, looking not unlike she had the first time Elphaba had seen her. Her face, however, was far from the same, and it frightened Elphaba so much she was barely able to turn and see what was happening.

When Elphaba's head finely dared to turn adequately, what she saw warranted Galinda's expression. Bent over double where he stood (or, rather, squatted) was Chistery.

With two enormous wings sprouting from his back.

"You did it! YOU DID IT!"

The Wizard leapt as he exclaimed, "Ms, Elphaba, you did it! Ah ha ha ha!"

The Wizard's began bounding jovially about the room, while a still petrified and pained looking Chistery slid finally to the ground, exhausted from the ordeal.

"This is _marvelous_!" the Wizard declared. "Stupendous!"

There were many other fantasmic words that flew from his lips, and Elphaba just stared, mouth agape, shocked and angry. He looked like he could hardly control his joy, while Elphaba and Galinda were left bewildered, Elphaba most especially.

"But... but, it hurt him _so much_," she said softly to her lap, her hands moving weakly over the closed Grimmerie. "I don't understand... I didn't know that magic could... could hurt..."

Elphaba's eyes welled with fresh tears that spilled instantly over her cheeks and onto her dress. She slowly made her way over the Chistery, never once looking away from his lifeless body.

"Oh, Elphaba, no harm was done!" the Wizard insisted. "In fact," he ruminated for a moment, "I think much more good was done than you know."

Elphaba, weeping over Chistery, trying to coax some sign or life out of him, could not see what good had been wrought from this, in any fashion. Chistery mumbled meekly and Elphaba could gather nothing of it. "It's alright," she said, setting his head in her lap. "I won't let them hurt you again, I promise."

His large, red eyes, barely opened, seemed to smile at her. He tried to open his mouth and failed many times at forming a word, til Elphaba heard a soft "thank you" whispered to her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I never should have let this happen."

Elphaba turned her attention sharply to the Wizard, who was staring up at the ceiling as though waiting for something. He was grinning like a madman and Elphaba had had quite enough!

"You can't do the spells at all!" she shouted at him. "That's why you needed me! You needed me because you don't have anything! No power, nothing! You're useless expect to manipulate..." Her eyes fell to Chistery, who had since appeared to have fallen into a deep sleep, and she could not contain her rage.

"And hurt the innocent. You're SICK!"

Galinda hastily slid between the Wizard and Elphaba, her shoes sliding like ice skates across the floor.

"Your Ozness, my friend is i>severely /I> stressed. She has no idea what she's saying..."

Galinda looked back to Elphaba and mouthed "What are you doing?" but Elphaba just glared. "I'm trying to help you, you know," she said silently, but Elphaba was not convinced.

"Oh, I know exactly what I'm saying," Elphaba contradicted, easing Chistery from her lap so she could rise and push past a flustered Galinda. "You're a cowardly despot, that's what you are. You've never had any real power, so you just manipulate everyone else into thinking you do."

The Wizard just chuckled, still staring up in the distance, which only angered Elphaba further.

"Ms. Elphaba, please, do not upset his Wonderfulness!" Madame Morrible made an attempt to stop her, but Elphaba rushed forward, looking intent to harm the Wizard. Galinda held her breath, too far away to stop it from happening.

And then Elphaba was suddenly floating, three feet in front of the Wizard.

"LET ME GO!" Elphaba screamed, feeling two sets of hands on her. What was going on? Why the hell was she flying?

"Oh, you're Ozness!" Madame Morrible said in awe, staring up at Elphaba. "Won't they make wonderful spies?"

Elphaba looked to Madame Morrible, to Galinda (who's eyes were wide in what seemed to now be a permanent state of shock), and then, finally, to the Wizard, who was smiling at her, the gentle care in his eyes replaced by a menacing looking mix of superiority and power.

"Oh yes, Madame," he said, looking all around, but not _at_ Elphaba. "They will be perfect. They can fly all over the city, virtually unseen, and report any... subversive Animal activity."

Elphaba chanced a look over her left shoulder and nearly fainted in the process.

"No...no!"

Holding Elphaba were two winged creatures, two monkeys quite similar to Chistery, though laking clothing. Elphaba could hear the flutter of wings behind her and she tried to tabulate how many of them there were by the sound. When she got past ten, she stopped counting. It pained her beyond belief to think that she had been led to do this to more than one living being.

"You made me do this..."

"On the contrary, Elphaba, I didn't _make_ you do anything!" The Wizard laughed and leaned back, examining his flock and Elphaba. "They look like a little family, don't they, Madame?"

Morrible nodded, grinning from ear to ear. Her part, it seemed, was fulfilled, and she was now more than happy to observe.

The grip on Elphaba's arms tightened, and she feared what was planned for her. As she bobbed there, midair, she marveled at how naive she had been. Had Chistery simply been acting? Was she being lied to by _everyone_?

You see? the voice taunted. Everyone, in the end, will hurt you.

"Now, Elphaba, be reasonable," the Wizard began, pacing beneath her feet. "Surely we can come to an agreement on things."

Elphaba's eyes burnt through the Wizard's unwavering and still gaze, and he eventually lowered his eyes, shaking his head. He rang his hands in disappointment.

"I had hoped you would make the right decision, Elphaba. But perhaps I was wrong about you."

Elphaba struggled for a moment against her captors and nearly spat at the Wizard.

"If you mean that I'm not a power-hungry maniac like you, then yes, you were wrong."

"Elphaba," Galinda cautioned, worriedly watching her love hang there helplessly, unable to do anything herself. "Please, just... listen to what he has to say?"

The Wizard smiled, pleasantly surprised to find support from Galinda. He opened his arm to beckon her forward.

"Yes, Elphaba, listen!" the Wizard said with a chuckle. He put his left arm around Galinda's shoulder, holding her slightly in front of him like a shield between himself and Elphaba. Galinda looked up at Elphaba with fear in her eyes, fear for Elphaba's safety, but Elphaba could not see that.

All she saw was betrayal.

"Not you too, Galinda," she said, her voice impossibly saturated with pain. Not you. Not her.

Yes her, the voice said. It will always be her.

"Listen to Galinda, Elphaba," the Wizard said, sounding like a small noise in the background. "Listen to reason."

Galinda's eyes begged, pleaded with Elphaba, but there was no response in her dark eyes. Galinda was ready to cry, but she would not show weakness now. She _had_ to convince Elphaba!

Elphaba searched for some sort of explanation in Galinda's eyes, but she saw nothing but selfish want. That's all Galinda has ever cared for, Elphaba thought. Herself!

"You _were_ wrong about me," Elphaba spoke in a coarse whisper, her eyes rapidly going from brown to brilliant green. Something inside of Elphaba flicked on, a sort of locked box that lay dormant for years only to be unhinged by this single moment. She took a deep breath and spoke in confident, clear words through the power that floated up and out of that box.

"Tuleh tumen anateh... tuneh tumen anateh... oootehnalaah..."

"What is she doing?" Madame Morrible asked nervously. "What is she doing?"

Galinda bit her bottom lip fiercely.

"Oh Elphaba. Don't do this," she whispered. But Elphaba did not hear her. She was repeating the words faster, louder, more powerfully. Her eyes shut tightly, head tilted back, the words pouring out like fire, and the heat, sweet Oz, the heat! It swelled, slowly at first, but then all too quickly, filling her like smoke from a blazing fire. The hands on her wavered, unsure what to do about the feeling of sudden heat that was flooding Elphaba's skin. For a moment, Elphaba feared they would drop her, but she was not far from the ground. She could still run if she fell.

"Take her away!" the Wizard ordered, backing away from the sudden heat. "TAKE HER AWAY!"

Panicking, he and Madame Morrible fell away, but Galinda stayed, heat flushing her cheeks. With her eyes shut, Elphaba could not see her, still standing there.

Elphaba felt the monkey's ready to move and her lips were just about to open again in the words of the spell when a new set of hands gripped her shoulders from above so tightly she called out.

"Chistery!"

He called in strange yips and barks to the other flying monkeys, his inhuman words sharp and demanding. Elphaba was preparing to fight him off, when she heard the Wizard yelling far from her.

"NO! LISTEN TO ME! TAKE HER TO THE DUNGEON!"

Chistery did not so much as turn to him as he continued to give orders, rapidly pointing different ways and, at one point, indicating Galinda.

"No, don't hurt her!" Elphaba ordered unconsciously. Even now, she could not knowingly allow Galinda to be harmed.

"Don't worry," Chistery said, the words broken and meek. The others nodded in unison and three broke off and seized Galinda, who did not even scream before they had her in the air.

"UP!" Elphaba heard Chistery call to the others and suddenly they were shooting toward the sky, the setting light of the sun above ground just barely leaking through the thick glass high above them. Elphaba could see no exit in the distance, but she assumed that anywhere was better than the dungeon and she made no attempt to fight the hold of the monkeys.

The heat Elphaba had conjured was building quickly as they rose, too quickly. The monkeys holding her grimaced, but they did not let go. Chistery did not move, either, a look of brutal determination masking the inconsistent flickers of pain.

"UP! UP!" he called, and the entire flock was midair, shooting skyward, the ground disappearing below, and the Wizard calling after them through the giant steel head.

"GUARDS! GUARDS! THERE IS AN INTRUDER IN THE CASTLE! FIND HER! FIND HER! FIND HER!"

But as he looked up after them ruefully, ascending so quickly that they were barely visible, the Wizard's confidence in his Royal Guards wavered. Chistery knew everything about the castle! Everything! If anyone could get them out, it was him.

He could not allow that to happen.

The guards filed in and he gave his orders quickly and rushed from the room, fearing the worst of this situation.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 23: The Birth of Darkness

Moonlight stared down on them as Elphaba's dress fluttered around her, the brim of her hat streaming in waves. She tried to put her thoughts forward, but she saw nothing in her future that made her feel any better about what had happened, what _was_ happening.

Where was she to go? What could she do? The Wizard probably knew the palace up and down, inside and out, all of the secret passage ways. She had nowhere to run. They would find her, eventually, unless the monkeys just kept flying forever.

The other monkeys had long since let go of her, the heat too much for them to bear, but Chistery, he had remained, ever as determined and unaffected. Elphaba could see his pain, though. How he had recovered enough to fly was beyond Elphaba's powers of deduction, but she tried not to think about it too much. She certainly wasn't complaining. There was no doubt in her mind that the others would not have hesitated to do as the Wizard commanded had Chistery not intervened.

Elphaba had managed to minimize the heat emanating from her body to a nearly nonexistent level, but Chistery's hands were no doubt damaged, badly, from his drawn out contact with her, but hopefully it was nothing permanent and the burns would heal. Still he held on as best he could, not hurting Elphaba, but leaving no fear that she might fall.

Elphaba swallowed, searching for words to thank him, but they were nearing the ceiling and Chistery was squawking orders to the others, who were beside and below Elphaba. Galinda, a bit further beneath them, was staring straight downward, looking paralyzed.

Slowly, the group arched in a semicircle, curving toward an opening in the wall to the left of them. It was more than wide enough to fit them, but Elphaba could not stop herself from pulling her legs up as they swooped through the round entrance to only Chistery knew where. The darkness immediately engulfed them, suddenly and completely just like plunging into black water. Very soon, Elphaba found herself being lowered, her feet eventually coming to rest on what felt like stable ground.

"Safe," she heard Chistery said, as he handed Elphaba something in the dark. "Safe." Elphaba took the heavy object and felt it blindly. When she realized what it was, she sneered and shook her head.

"Not that he could use it anyway, but maybe if I can use it to stop him…" She thought for a moment, then nodded, placing that thought in the back of her mind for the time being. Right at the second, she had other things to worry about.

"Thank you, Chistery," she said, reaching out to pat his head in the premature night. Chistery's head bobbed and Elphaba heard the sudden sound of a dozen wings slowly descending around her.

"Go," Elphaba said, placing her hand resolutely on Chistery's chest and pushing him back gently, but with a seriousness that he could feel. "I'll be alright."

Chistery hesitated for a moment, but Elphaba squeezed his arm firmly.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt."

Chistery nodded, though she couldn't see him, and called sharply to his companions. In an instant, there was the throbbing sound of wings all about, and they were gone.

"Now," Elphaba muttered to herself, "Let's see if we can't get some light in here."

She sat down right where she stood and the grimmerie seemed to magically open, settling in front of her. Her blind eyes searched the pages, her hands wandering across now familiar, worn edges, and somehow she knew exactly what she was "seeing". She smiled in the darkness and allowed her fingers to be led by the unseen, her mind oddly clear and focused.

A single, heavy sigh of breath faded into nothing as Elphaba's fingers stopped, splayed out over the proper incantation.

"Here," she said aloud, though less for Galinda than for her own satisfaction in hearing it, knowing it. She could never describe this feeling, but it was so true, down to her bones, that there was nothing in her mind that could deny it. Logic, it seemed, had lost all of its hold on her as Elphaba traced the words of the old world, inexplicably sensing the words through the pads of her fingertips. The heavy, dried ink rose out of the page like Braille, and she deciphered the patterns of scratches and lines into words, words that opened Elphaba's mouth and streamed out in the speech of times gone by, thrumming in song-like measure.

"Hateh ne la neh ah neh, Hateh nel uleh ah neh…"

Galinda's skin prickled as she stared at the blackness from which the eerie song came, her body sensing what she could not see and filling the gaps of her comprehension. How could Elphaba know this? How could she read something so ancient, something she had only just laid eyes on and now was reading _in pitch black darkness?_ She knew Elphaba was _gifted_, but to know that which no other had been able to understand, she suspected since the time it had been written?

Though Galinda had not doubt, she was still surprised when a soft glow flickered on the floor just a few meters away, illuminating a sharply contoured face.

"It's powerful," Galinda said. She reconsidered her thought. "You're powerful."

Elphaba sighed, rising. She seemed to ignore Galinda's comment. Her light appeared attached to her, a visible aura of sorts. It grew as she walked further away from Galinda, trying to get a better picture of the room Chistery had felt was "safe" to leave them in.

As she searched, Elphaba lit up the dark crevices like a living lantern, prodding the night away from the corners as she unceremoniously turned over boxes, loose papers, and other odds and ends.

"I think we're in an attic," Elphaba said at length. Galinda nodded, unmoving. She stayed lazily in the same spot the monkeys had dropped her and was not inclined to move just yet.

"Well, they did take us pretty high, didn't they? It makes sense."

Again, a nod was the only sign that Galinda had heard what Elphaba had said. She was, in essence, talking to herself.

Elphaba sat down on a strange looking chest and brushed off skirt mindlessly. Dust floated up in plumes around her from the chest as she adjusted, trying to gain a bit of comfort in the less-than-ideal position on the less-than-suitable piece of furniture.

They sat like that for a considerable amount of time, neither saying anything, Galinda staring at the floor where Elphaba had been kneeling, Elphaba uncomfortably seated, swishing her feet back and forth along the line of the chest like a bored child out shopping with her mother.

"Why didn't you say anything."

Galinda's eyes alone moved. She watched Elphaba, her face turned aside, clutching her one arm nervously. Galinda didn't' know what to make of that "statement".

"What was I supposed to say Elphaba? He's the _Wizard_." She sighed, speaking in an oddly calm and logical way. "Nothing I could have said would have changed anything."

Elphaba worried at her lower lip, fearing what Galinda said to be right. Though that thought might have been just below the surface, she refused to acknowledge it, and instead acted quite childishly.

"You could have said something, Galinda! You left me to hang!"

Galinda, surprisingly, did not react to the anger in Elphaba's voice. She had expected her to; she had wanted to start a fight. She needed some sort of release after what had just happened, after having all control taken away. Her life was literally in shambles! She needed to have some way of grabbing hold of the edge before she fell off completely.

"You're just in this for yourself, aren't you? That's why you came, isn't it?" Elphaba shook her head, slipping off of the chest. "I was just… a way _in _for you!"

Galinda's brow furrowed slightly at this, but she refrained from acting just then. As Elphaba began to pace, Galinda knew that she might as well wait until her dark green tirade was complete before responding.

Elphaba, who was quickly going from one side of the room to the other, seemed content to carry on with both sides of the conversation entirely on her own.

"Everything, from the moment you started being nice to me, has been a lie, hasn't it!" She didn't wait for an answer. "Of course! Why didn't I see it before? Getting into the magic class, getting Fiyero, getting here…you wouldn't have had any of it without me! Sweet Oz..." She paused at the opposite side of the room from Galinda, her hand resting on a low, dusty shelf full of odd looking bits and bobs. Elphaba pressed her palms into the thin wood, shaking the platform slightly, dust falling of like a dark waterfall to the ground around her. She laughed darkly to herself.

"I can't believe you would get me to fall in love with you…" She turned then, and Galinda noticed a few righteous tears falling down her dirty cheeks. Her eyes looked reddened around the green irises.

Elphaba's chest was rising and falling rapidly; Galinda waited for the final arrow.

"And you even made me believe…that you loved me, too."

"Are you finished?"

Elphaba's eyes widened slightly, confused, but she narrowed them quickly again, squelching the look of uncertainty beneath a bitter looking glare. Galinda, still, did not retaliate. She waited.

"I'm finished," Elphaba spat, "Finished with you!"

She turned in a huff, throwing her arms around herself, shivering.

"Oh, Elphie, you're shaking…"

Galinda broke from her spot with a bit of effort and flung open the trunk Elphaba had been sitting on. She rummaged through the old clothing until she found a thick, black cloak. Turning to Elphaba, Galinda flung the cloak upward, shaking it free of the years of disuse. It would suit her.

Elphaba did not turn, even as she heard the footsteps coming toward her. They halted just behind her, then a silent movement made her flinch as the black cloak was brought up around her shoulders.

Galinda leaned over and around Elphaba's right side, her arms coming around to tie the cloak at the nape of Elphaba's neck. Elphaba shook, out of anger, chill, and a little bit of fear. Eventually, Galinda stepped back. Elphaba turned, wanting to find some sort of answer in Galinda's usually betraying eyes, but found nothing in the pale pupils. Galinda reached up to straighten Elphaba's hat and Elphaba caught sight of her reflection in a glass jar to her left. She looked… haunted.

"There," Galinda spoke in satisfaction. She looked Elphaba over once more, but did not make to touch her again.

"Now. Are you ready to listen to me?"

Elphaba looped at Galinda suspiciously but nodded.

"You're smart, Elphie?"

She nodded again, still dubious as to where Galinda was headed with this. It unnerved her to see Galinda so… calm.

"Then you already know that everything you just said was a lie?"

Elphaba bit the bottom of her lip sharply.

"Of course it's a lie, Elphie! I never would have done any of the things you just accused me of! It's ridiculous! OZ!" Galinda turned away from Elphaba as though finished, but she rounded on her suddenly and Elphaba had to keep herself from gasping.

"And you! How _dare_ you accuse me of these things when you nearly got yourself _killed_ down there before my very eyes!"

"_I_ nearly got _myself_ killed? Galinda, are you insane? The Wizard was--"

"I don't care what he was going to Elphaba! Once again, the great Elphaba Thropp lost thinks she's got it all figured out! Well, I hope you're happy, Miss Smarty Pants, because you've completely ruined your chances of EVER becoming the Wizard's Magic Grand Vizier!"

The fury was suddenly returned to Elphaba's eyes and she all but snarled. "You hope _I'm_ happy? Well, I hope _you're_ happy, Miss Know It All! Because you've just made yourself look absolutely splendid in that monster's eyes! Why, I wouldn't be surprised if they gave you the spot right now! Well, what are you waiting for!"

Galinda stared at her, nostrils flared. "Waiting for what, Elphaba?"

"Turn me in! Go on! Scream! Call after them! You might as well, since I'm apparently already damned!"

Galinda made to retort, but a sound crept into her ear, dashing through her brain and hitting her like icy water in her heated anger. She watched in terror as Elphaba, too, registered the thumping sound of feet coming up quickly beneath them.

"Quick, Elphaba, find the door!"

Galinda immediately busied herself with finding a way in alternate to their unorthodox flight, but came up with nothing right away. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Elphaba had not moved. IN fact, she wasn't even looking around; she was staring back into the dark side of the room, her eyes on a very particular patch of blackness.

"Elphaba, hurry," Galinda shouted, fear in her voice. She didn't care if they hated each other right now, she wasn't going to let that get in the way of making sure Elphaba escaped from this place. Galinda had a chance, if caught, to explain herself, but Galinda knew now, after seeing poor Chistery suffer, what the Wizard was probably capable of, and that was unallowable to Galinda, where Elphie was involved.

When Elphaba did not move, Galinda tried again. "Please, Elphaba, don't give up. Not yet."

Elphaba suddenly broke the spell the darkness held her in, and Galinda sighed with relief until she realized where Elphaba was headed.

Elphaba lit up the ground around the Grimmerie as she knelt before it. Her hands nervously found the cover and pulled it open. Galinda shook with fear as she heard the pounding of a hand against a space beneath the floor not a meter away from her, a stern voice following in not a millisecond after.

"BY COMMAND OF HIS MAGESTY THE WIZARD, OPEN UP!"

Galinda immediately sat down on the offending space of the floor, feeling it shake beneath her. "Elphabaaaaaaa…." She bounced, feeling the force of several soldiers trying to force it open. Oh, why had she ever tried to lose weight!

"Elphaba, hurry up!"

"…atey... aveh tateh aven...ahnooteh..."

"Elphie?" Galinda blinked, realizing what she was doing. Elphaba spoke the words without hurry, without fear in her voice. Galinda could not believe Elphaba was trying to use a spell at a time like this!

"Elphaba! What are you doing?!? This is no time to be fooling around!"

Elphaba's mouth sat open slightly, and her eyes shut as she leaned back. But no wings sprouted from her back. In fact, nothing seemed to have changed at all to Galinda, but still Elphaba shut the Grimmerie, a smile now on her lips.

"Elphie? Have you lost your mind! You're not powerful enough to do this! You should be afraid, Elphaba!"

Galinda tried not to cry, but the soldiers beneath her were making headway in dislodging her and Galinda could not stop the tears from coming. So this is how it would end! Galinda crying like a fool while Elphaba sat, grinning like a bigger fool, the Grimmerie in her lap.

Suddenly, Elphaba's eyes snapped open. She turned to look at Galinda and she was taken aback by the fire in her eyes. She grinned at Galinda, widely and in a way that Galinda could only describe as wicked. When she turned away from her, Galinda was struck by the feeling of silence and calm, like the whole world had slowed down. Elphaba rose up, her cloak rising like magic around her, rippling as Elphaba's right hand slipped over the ground, just her fingertips propelling her up and the momentum shooting her across the room the moment her legs extended fully. She reached out, her light spreading like white fire, and Galinda turned just in time to see something rising up and out of that odd little trunk, floating just above the pile of clothes that had spilled out on the floor, and then the soldiers broke through.

"NO! ELPHABA, RUN!"

The soldiers flung the door up and out, flinging Galinda to the floor, her wrists smarting as she tried to break her fall with her hands. They were on her to quickly for any sort of resistance to be anything but futile, but Galinda continued to shout at Elphaba in panicked hope that something she said would save her, though in her heart she knew Elphaba and she were doomed. So this is how it ends, the voice said to her again. This is how it ends.

"ELPHABA!"

The soldiers seized Galinda and she thrashed about as they forced her to stand, but nothing she did so much as phased the two men holding her upright. She looked up through her tears, expecting to see Elphaba in the same position as she, perhaps trying valiantly to fight back before inevitably succumbing. But Galinda's eyes fought in the darkness and found no flash of green.

"Elphie? Where… where are you?" she whispered to herself. The soldiers seemed just as confused.

Then she saw her, and before the soldiers could even know what was happening, Elphaba rich, angry voice fell down on them with like hail and fiery stone.

"It's not her you want… IT'S ME! IT'S ME! AND NO ONE, NOT EVEN THE WIZARD, IS GOING TO BRING ME DOWN!"

The soldiers looked up frantically, and when they finally realized where the perpetrator was they were no more calmed. There, above their heads, floated the menacing green girl, holding fiercely to a battered old broom. She was clothed in the blackness of night, fluttering about her as though seeping out of her very soul. They would report the next day to all of Oz that her eyes had flashed the red of a demon and her voice had pierced them like a thousand flaming arrows to justify the fear that brought them to their knees before a mere child. Elphaba glared down upon them like a great dark goddess, her words as fierce as if they had been those frightful arrows of which the soldier's would speak.

"IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU, YOU'LL STAY OUT OF MY WAY! BECAUSE I'M NOT GOING TO REST UNTIL THE WIZARD IS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE!"

The light coming from Elphaba suddenly engulfed the darkness, and the soldiers shielded their eyes, some crying out in fear, others whimpering in cowardly fright. Galinda looked on, though nearly blinded, and watched as Elphaba looked down to her. She mouthed three simple words, a spell all their own, and then she was gone, spiraling into the dark tunnel, the end straws of her broom tail disappearing into the night.

"Oh, Elphaba," Galinda whispered after her, "I love you, too."


End file.
